IMEEC to have profound impact on world connectivity, says Jaishankar

Marseilles: Terming connectivity as an important part of diplomacy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the IMEEC once completed will offer a significant land- and sea-based connectivity to Europe all the way up to the Pacific.

The India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) will comprise two separate corridors, the east corridor connecting India to the Gulf and the northern corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe.

Highlighting the need for land, sea, and air connectivity “in as many options and as many variants as possible,” Jaishankar told a panel discussion at the inaugural Raisina Mediterranean 2025 here, “The connectivity initiatives, I think, have become a very important part of diplomacy today.”

Even when the IMEEC is not in place as yet, Europe has a “fairly ready and efficient access” to India's western coast, despite the threats by Houthis to shipping, he said. “We are making very major investments in railways, and then trying to connect eastern India all the way to Vietnam.”

Reminding the audience how the Suez Canal took ages to make, he said, “But once it was done, you see what a profound impact it's had on the world. So actually, if we can pull that (IMEEC) off, you will get from Europe a route all the way to the Pacific, which will be significantly land based, but partly sea based.”

“And in some ways, it would be a counter to the reliance on the Arctic, whenever the Arctic opens up. The connectivity game is a long game,” he said.

On the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi in 2023, India, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the US announced an MoU committing to work together to develop the IMEEC.

The two corridors intend to enhance connectivity, increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility and generate jobs, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and Middle East, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The panel discussion was themed 'The Next Special Relationship: Deepening the Strategic Partnership between the Indo-Pacific and Europe.'

Jaishankar was joined by Ararat Mirzoyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia; Abigael Vasselier, Director Policy & European Affairs; Head of Programmes, Foreign Relations, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Germany, and Francesco Parisi, President and Managing Director of the Parisi Group of Companies, Italy.

While answering a question by the moderator and without taking names, Jaishankar indicated trust-based equations with countries such as who stands by in times of difficulty will have consequences on choices for trade too.

“Trust means, intuitively, we are comfortable with each other ... by having similar values, similar approaches, sometimes by saying, okay, in my difficulty, who supported me, or in my security needs, who was willing to go the extra mile? It makes a difference.”

“So, let us say we've just come out of some security episodes right now. When I look at who stood by us, who would I trust, with whom am I comfortable, it will surely have consequences on my choices and on my decisions,” Jaishankar said, apparently referring to the recent India-Pakistan conflict post the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

He had also pointed out how there's a realisation in Europe that a lot of its problems and solutions will have to be analysed and thought through by Europe itself and said, “A Europe which is today more self aware, which is more self reliant, which is more strategically autonomous, will obviously want to look for partners who think similarly and can work with Europe in that respect.”

“And I think that gives a kind of an additional impetus to India-Europe relations which were evolutionary, but I predict a very sharp acceleration in that,” the EAM added.