India-Middle East-Europe Trade Corridor Announced at G20 Leaders Summit

One of the major announcements to emerge from the just-concluded G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi was the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor which includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the United States.

The multi-modal rail and shipping corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII) - a collaborative effort by G7 nations to fund infrastructure projects in developing nations. 

Along with transport infrastructure, the project also includes the laying of electric cables, a hydrogen pipeline and a high speed data cable under the sea connecting India to the UAE and beyond.

The corridor will comprise of two parts, the East Corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf and the Northern Corridor connecting Israel to Spain, Italy and France.

Speaking on the announcement, US President, Joe Biden called it a "real big deal".

The project will consist of a sea route from India to the UAE which will then connect to Israel by rail via Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

From Israel the corridor will connect to Italy and Spain by sea and onward by rail to France.

The corridor will save time, fuel and overall cost of transport while being a game-changing enabler of trade and logistics across the world.

Incidently, this announcement comes on the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative which not seen many new projects since 2019 when the country was hit by the real estate crisis.

Read More: MENA M&A Activity in H1 2023 Reaches 318 Deals Valued at US$43.8 Billion