The transport link, dubbed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, aims to establish new shipping lanes between India and the United Arab Emirates and a freight rail system cutting across the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, from where goods can be shipped to Europe.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the project “nothing less than historic”, adding it would cut transit time between India and Europe by 40 percent.
“It will be the most direct connection to date between India, the Arabian Gulf and Europe,” she said.
Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih went further, describing IMEC, which will reportedly include electricity cables and clean hydrogen pipelines, as “the equivalent of the Silk Route and Spice Road”.
