IMEC Needs a Robust Economic Framework and a Stable West Asia

Economic corridors—integrated networks of roads, ports, and railways that connect centers of production to facilitate the movement of both goods and people—are often unsuccessful unless member countries have strong economies and work to promote vertical as well as horizontal network integration. The newly created India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), involving Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union, India, and the United States, aims to build trade and infrastructural networks and foster economic development and connectivity among these nations, as well as counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

However, India’s track record on economic corridors is mixed. Furthermore, the Israel-Hamas war may have thrown the future of IMEC into jeopardy. Past corridors India has been involved in, such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), have been hampered by deficits in infrastructure, a lack of clear trade guidelines, and inter-regional conflict. Though IMEC is already taking some steps to prevent problems that commonly befall economic corridors, it remains to be seen whether the project will get off the ground. To read more about IMEC and India’s past economic corridors, see the original piece in the Hindustan Times, available here.