The Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations have committed to promote concrete infrastructure initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Economic Corridor (IMEEC) in the G7 Communique issued at the end day of the three-day summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Communique was issued on June 14, 2024, after the customary family photo at the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia, where the G7 also reiterated a commitment to a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific Region based on a rule of law. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G7 Summit at the invitation of the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni
“We will further promote concrete G7 PGII (Partnership For Global Infrastructure and Investment) initiatives, flagship projects and complementary initiatives to develop transformative corridors for quality infrastructure and investment such as deepening of our coordination and financing for the Lobito Corridor, Luzon, Middle and India-Middle East-Economic Corridor (IMEEC) also building on global gateway the Great Green Wall Initiative and the Mattei Plan for Africa by Italy,” reads the communique.
Billed as a path breaking initiative, the IMEC envisages a vast railroad, road and shipping network among Saudi Arabia, India, the United States of America and Europe to ensure integration among Asia, the Middle East and the West. The IMEEC is also seen as an initiative by like minded nations to gain strategic influence in the face of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which has faced increasing criticism over lack of transparency and disregard to the sovereignty of the nations.
The IMEEC has two constituents, the East Corridor, which connects India to the Arabian Gulf and Northern Corridor connecting Gulf to Europe. The project will include electricity cable, hydrogen pipeline and high-speed data cable. it has a comprehensive transportation network comprising rail, road and sea routes connecting India, West Asia (Middle East) and Europe.
It is also a potential counter to the Peoples Republic of China’s BRI. The BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Russia, Europe, Central Asia. The IMC initiative was firmed up on the lines of the G20 hosted by India in 2023.
The ports of the corridor in India include Mandla (Gujarat), Kandla, Mumbai, Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi, Khair, and Fujairah are important nodes in the Arabian Peninsula. From Fujairah, a rail network will connect it to Haifa (Israel) and then it will reach Europe via Greece (Piraeus) Messina (Italy) and then Marseilles in France.
About the Outreach session on Friday on the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa and the Mediterranean addressed by Modi, the Communique reads: “In a spirit of shared responsibility, we warmly welcome the participation of the Leaders of Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Tunisia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates.
“We will step up our efforts to enhance interoperability amongst our AI governance approaches to promote greater certainty, transparency and accountability while recognizing that approaches and policy instruments may vary across G7 members. We will take a risk-based approach in these efforts as we seek to foster innovation and strong, inclusive, and sustainable growth.” Among the other priorities of the summit’s agenda, the communique registers “unwavering support” for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
It notes: “With a view to supporting Ukraine’s current and future needs in the face of a prolonged defence against Russia, the G7 will launch Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans for Ukraine, in order to make available approximately USD 50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine by the end of the year.
“Therefore, without prejudice to possible other contributions and standing together, the G7 intends to provide financing that will be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilisation of Russian sovereign assets held in the European Union and other relevant jurisdictions. To enable this, we will work to obtain approval in these jurisdictions to use future flows of these extraordinary revenues to service and repay the loans.”
Pope Francis became the first pontiff to join the participants of the G7 hosted by Italy – US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
