- Monday, December 23, 2024
The IMEC, which will connect India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe, is seen as a crucial alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-country infrastructure project.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA and the UAE have inked an agreement to make the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) quickly operational despite repeated attacks by Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea. The development took place at the time of prime minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the UAE.
The issue of IMEC, which was announced during the G20 Summit in New Delhi last September, came up for discussion during Modi’s talks with UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (13), Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Wednesday (14).
The IMEC, which will connect India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe, is seen as a crucial alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-country infrastructure project.
Read: India, UAE strengthen ties with 10 collaboration pacts
The Inter-governmental Framework Agreement concerning Cooperation for the Empowerment and Operation of the IMEC will further regional connectivity, Kwatra said while briefing reporters on Modi’s latest visit to the UAE.
“One of the aims is to see how quickly the IMEC gets operated and benefits the core objective of stronger, deeper, more extensive regional connectivity between the parties involved,” he said.
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Kwatra said the ongoing disturbance in the region about the conflict in Gaza and the situation in the Red Sea is a matter of concern.
“Both the countries and the leaders continue to monitor, supervise, and exchange notes on them. But it is equally important to ensure that economic cooperation which can be pursued, taken forward continues to stay the course and maintain momentum,” the foreign secretary said.
Kwatra added that the main areas under the agreement on IMEC are the ones relating to cooperation on logistics platforms, which is a crucial element of furthering the objectives of this particular quality to the provision of supply chain services.
“Our supply chain services are not just limited to one or two things but cover all types of general cargo, bulk containers and liquid bulk,” he said.
In another development, the UAE’s investment ministry and India’s electronics and technology ministry signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on digital infrastructure projects.
“This is a framework agreement that focuses on investment cooperation in the field of digital infrastructures, naturally, as a corollary of that the focus is on developing capabilities and sharing technical knowledge, advice, skills, and expertise under this particular framework.
“Government agencies as also the regulatory authorities will also look to forge partnerships under this particular digital infrastructure MOU,” Kwatra added.
Briefing about the Bilateral Investment Treaty between India and the UAE, Kwatra said that the agreement will set the basis for stronger and more extensive and wide-ranging investment partnerships because it focuses not just on protecting the existing investments.
(With PTI inputs)
