India-Middle East-Europe corridor game changer for us, says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim budget speech on Thursday said that the recently announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) would be a strategic and economic 'game changer' for India and reiterated PM Modi's statement that the corridor would become the basis of world trade for centuries.

"The recent India Middle East Europe economic corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others. In the words of the Prime Minister, the corridor and I quote, the corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil," the minister said.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, the Union Finance Minister in her budget speech said, "The vision for Viksit Bharat is that of prosperous Bharat in harmony with nature with modern infrastructure and providing opportunities for all citizens and all regions to reach their potential. With confidence arising from the strong and exemplary track record of performance and progress earning Sabka Vishwas, the next five years will be years of unprecedented development and a golden movement to realize the dream of developing India by 2047."

The Union Minister also underscored the success of India's G20 presidency and said that during the tough times engulfed by the COVID-19 pandemic, India navigated its way and addressed global problems.

"A new world order is emerging after the COVID pandemic. India assumed the G20 presidency during a very difficult time for the world. The global economy was going through high inflation, high interest rates, low growth, very high public debt, low trade growth, and climate change. The pandemic has led to a crisis of food, fertilizers, and finances for the world while India successfully navigated its way," she said.

"The country showed the way forward and built consensus on solutions for those global problems. The recent India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others," the FM added.

At the G20 Summit which took place in India on September 9-10, India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

The corridor will encourage and provide impetus to economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe, as per sources.

Earlier in September, while addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), US President Joe Biden lauded the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and said the project will spur opportunities for investment across two continents.

Biden said that the rail port project is part of an effort to build a more sustainable integrated Middle East.

"Connect India to Europe through the UAE, Saudi Arabia Jordan and Israel will spur opportunities for investment across two continents. This is part of our effort to build a more sustainable integrated Middle East," Biden said.

On the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ambitious project and was flanked by US President Biden, Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and leaders of the EU.

This is a historic and first-of-its-kind initiative on cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, EU, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will consist of two separate corridors, the East corridor connecting India to West Asia/Middle East and the Northern corridor connecting West Asia/Middle East to Europe.

It will include a rail line, which, upon completion, will provide a reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement the existing multi-modal transport routes enhancing transhipment of goods and services from South East Asia through India to West Asia/Middle East Europe.