What is IMEC?

• • During the G20 Summit held in India last year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed among the Governments of India, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the UAE, France, Germany, and Italy to establish the India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor. 
  • IMEC is envisioned as a network of transportation routes encompassing railways and sea lanes. 
  • Its primary objective is to promote economic development by fostering integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe.
  • This project falls under the umbrella of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII), an initiative led by Western nations to support infrastructure projects worldwide. 

• The PGII seeks to finance infrastructure projects in developing countries by leveraging a combination of public and private investments.

• • It was initially introduced during the G7 summit in the UK in 2021. 
• The IMEC corridor hopes to become a viable alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has steadily established global connectivity linkages with the Chinese market through extensive shipping, rail, and road networks, since its conception 10 years ago.