Addressing the Indo-Pacific Dialogue on November 16, 2023, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the ongoing Israel-Hamas Conflict is posing a serious threat and challenge to the India-Middle East -Europe-Economic Corridor echoing the views of US President Joe Biden. Recently, US President Joe Biden has said that the announcement of the IMEEC has been the primary reason why Hamas has attacked Israel.
Formation of the IMEEC
Backed by the US, the IMEEC was signed at the 18th G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi. The signing of the corridor marked the culmination of the Summit and India’s presidency. It is a multimodal economic ic corridor that incorporates multiple networks of railways, roadways and will include electricity and high-speed data cables along with a hydrogen pipeline. It is an alternative to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Significance of the IMEEC
The IMEEC will connect Indian ports such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (Mundra), Kandla ports in Gujarat with West Asian ports such as Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Abu Dhabi inn the United Arab Emirates along with the Saudi Arabian ports of Dammam, Ras-al-Khair, Ghuwaifat.
Then there is a rail segment which will continue the IMEEC to the Saudi Arabian cities of Haradh, Al-Haditha, onward to the port of Haifa in Israel. The final segment which some experts call th Northern Corridor will once again be a maritime segment connecting Haifa port to the Greek port of Piraeus and thence to Europe. However, it is not because of the geopolitical challenges and the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza is a worrying manifestation of these, she said.
Third largest economy
At the event, the minister also said India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany as thr third largest economy of the world after the year 2027.
India is entirely conscious of the fact that over the foreseeable future, India’s Comprehensive National Power is growing to be intricately linked with the ocean. “We are seized of the pressing need to grow the maritime sector as a whole and our government is determined to provide the requisite support by way of fiscal policy and financial outlay, Sitharaman said.
“We seek to position India as the major economic hub in new and diversified supply chains and value chains across the Indo-Pacific and indeed across the world. All the sectors of the government are responding extremely positive to our new financial policies. India’s economic growth is estimated to be just 7 percent during the financial year 2024, the highest among various economies despite global headwinds,” she said.
“Even according to the usually conservative estimates of the IMF, the Indian economy is set tot emerge as the third largest economy by 2027 hopping over Japan and Germany as its GDP crosses $5 Trillion level. By the year 2047, India will become a developed economy,” she said.
On Blue Economy
Talking about the nation’s blue economy, she said that it accounts roughly four percent of the GDP and represents a sea of opportunities. India has nine states and four Union Territories situated on the coast, twelve major and 200 plus non major ports situated along its coastline and a vast network of navigable waterways for international and domestic trade, she said.
According to the UNCTAD, India was the second largest exporter of ocean-based goods and services among the developing countries in 2020. In order to reduce India’s vulnerability to international sanctions and pressures along with providing greater strategic flexibility in shipping operations, Sitharaman said that India is setting up a full fledged Indian owned and India based Protection Indemnity entity that will additionally provide protection to coastal and inland shipping.
