IMEC Progress “Slower Than Expected” Amid West Asia Conflict, admits Jaishankar
New Delhi — India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has acknowledged that the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is advancing at a pace slower than initially anticipated. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Jaishankar attributed the delays primarily to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has diverted significant regional attention toward immediate security crises.
Deep Search: Dissecting the Delay
While Jaishankar confirmed that the project is “progressing,” his “kind of yes” response regarding its momentum reveals the intricate geopolitical hurdles the corridor faces. The delay is not merely administrative but structural; the corridor’s physical connectivity relies heavily on a stable rail link passing through Saudi Arabia and Jordan into Israel.
Security over Economy: The conflict in Gaza has forced key partners like Saudi Arabia and Jordan to prioritize domestic stability and regional de-escalation over long-term infrastructure integration.
Diplomatic Freeze: A critical, albeit often unstated, prerequisite for IMEC’s western leg is the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The current hostilities have effectively frozen these diplomatic channels, stalling the “peace for prosperity” logic that underpinned the corridor’s design.
Logistical Re-routing: Security threats in the Red Sea have already disrupted existing shipping lanes, forcing a re-evaluation of the corridor’s maritime security protocols before ground infrastructure can even be fully connected.
Despite these setbacks, Jaishankar emphasized a “big European interest” matched by India, framing the corridor as a modern revival of historical trade routes that once linked the subcontinent to the Mediterranean.
Objections: Skepticism and Geopolitical Rivalries
The admission of delays has emboldened critics who have long questioned the project’s viability.
“Paper Corridor” Concerns: Skeptics argue that IMEC was announced with high diplomatic fanfare but lacked a concrete financing mechanism. Unlike China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is state-funded, IMEC relies heavily on private sector investment, which remains wary of the region’s volatility.
Regional Exclusion: The project has drawn sharp criticism from excluded regional powers. Turkey, a traditional bridge between East and West, has objected to being bypassed, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously stating, “There is no corridor without Turkey,” and pushing for a rival “Development Road” via Iraq.
Implementation Realities: Logistics experts point out the immense difficulty of harmonizing customs, legal frameworks, and technical standards across multiple jurisdictions—India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and the EU—each with vastly different regulatory environments.
Background Info: The Strategic Vision of IMEC
Launched on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC was envisioned as a comprehensive ship-to-rail transit network.
The Route: The corridor is designed to consist of two legs: the East Corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf, and the Northern Corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe.
Beyond Trade: It is not solely a transport route. The plan includes laying cables for high-speed digital connectivity and pipelines for clean hydrogen export, aiming to integrate the energy grids of the Gulf and Europe.
Strategic Counterweight: Geopolitically, IMEC is widely viewed as a Western-backed alternative to China’s BRI, intended to deepen economic engagement between India, the Middle East, and Europe while de-risking supply chains from over-reliance on existing maritime chokepoints like the Suez Canal.
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