Billed as a pathbreaking initiative, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) envisages a vast road, railroad and shipping networks among Saudi Arabia, India, the US and Europe with an aim to ensure integration among Asia, Middle East and the West.
In an exclusive interview to PTI Videos earlier this week, Italy’s special envoy for IMEC, Francesco Talo’ also said the ambitious project was started with a “lot of hope” and such initiatives are needed especially in times of volatility and uncertainty driven by global security challenges.
Talo’, a seasoned diplomat, visited India recently to take part in a meeting of representatives of countries which are partners in the IMEC initiative, which was was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023.
“India is certainly crucial, because it’s a huge market. It’s a huge producer. So, on both aspects, it is very important. Then you know that IMEC is, let’s say, a network of connectivity. I like to speak more about a network than a corridor, because it’s more complicated than a one way point-to-point link,” he told PTI in the interview hosted at the Italian Embassy here.
This project is very much about trade, and of course goods, exchange of goods, as also very much about energy and data. And, “India is a protagonist in all three sectors,” he said. So, of course, “you (India) are important”, more and more as an industrial country, as a recipient market, but also as a hub for technology, and therefore from India, data, the connectivity of data, the digital connections are very important, the envoy underlined. “So we are linking India to Europe. And, here together we can be really the main actors. You know that there is a cable (project) called Blue Raman which is going to connect Mumbai with Italian harbour of Genoa in the Mediterranean, and then from Genoa all over Europe. This is crucial because data is practically the fuel of the 21st century,” Talo’ said.
He emphasised the critical role of digital connectivity besides physical connectivity that will help power data centres and lend “more possibility and strength to our artificial intelligence and to our technologies and economy at large”.
Then, of course, the exchange of goods, between India and the European Union, which is forecast to “double in 10 years” as a result of the initiative, he said, without elaborating. And, energy is still absolutely necessary also for the digital economy because data centres need a lot of energy, the envoy added.
During his visit to New Delhi, Talo’ met the deputy National Security Advisor and a host of other senior officials in the central government.
“I have had meetings with part of the administration, especially with people in the National Security Council and the external affairs ministry. And I’m planning to meet other people today (August 6) in order to better understand the importance of our partner India,” he said.
Talo’ said discussions were held about the possibility that India can produce more and more hydrogen, green hydrogen and possibly not only for domestic consumption, but also to be exported.
“This is valid very much for the Gulf countries. They have a lot of energy, they have a lot of sun, wind so they can produce. On the other hand, in Europe, we need energy. We don’t produce enough. So there are, I mean, common interests in this field. Energy, digital connectivity, and of course connectivity,” the envoy underlined.
And, it’s good that in this very city, the “first meeting” among the special envoys of IMEC was held, the diplomat said.
“I was here when the initiative was launched in September 2023. I was with my Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. And, we had a clear vision of a great opportunity for our countries, for our shared interests,” Talo’ said, adding, IMEC was started with a “lot of hope” and it was very much linked to the idea of having important political and economic results.
And, this is the moment really to have a “transition” from a phase of conferences, interviews, and some public events to a “more concrete phase of action”, he asserted.
In September 2023, an agreement was signed by India, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US and some other G20 partners for the corridor.
During the interaction, he also shared the reasons for Italy pitching its coastal city of Trieste as a “possible principal hub” in this corridor.
On France also pitching to have Marseille, perhaps as a terminal on this corridor, Talo’ said, “Well, I think that we need to have several terminals. Actually, I understand that in India there might be several ports.”
EU signatories Italy, France, and Germany are partners in this transnational connectivity project, and the envoy said Rome is working with the spirit of “Team Europe”.
Talo’ shared that Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani plans to organise an IMEC-related meeting in Trieste, “by the end of this year”.
“It is not something formal with all the ministers. It’s mainly intended to present Trieste as a great opportunity, as an ideal hub for IMEC. It will be dedicated to the business community and also to some ministers,” he said.
Asked if External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be invited for the meeting, he said, “Of course, the Indian minister would really be the main actor…, but it’s not going to be a formal meeting.”
