GAZA WARIsrael-Hamas War a Reality Check for India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
The ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas has underlined the challenges facing an ambitious initiative to build a new trade route from India through the Middle East to Europe, according to analysts.
The ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas has underlined the challenges facing an ambitious initiative to build a new trade route from India through the Middle East to Europe, according to analysts.
Announced at the Group of 20 summit held in India last month, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, is seen as a modern-day spice route and an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It is backed among others by the United States, the European Union and Saudi Arabia.
The corridor aims to establish a rail and shipping network linking the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to the Israeli port of Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea. Goods could then be shipped to Europe, bypassing the Suez Canal.
But as Israel conducts strikes on Gaza in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, the region has been plunged into instability as the conflict becomes the deadliest of five Gaza wars.
“Now we are facing the possibility of a spillover of this war into the wider region and that is a reality check for IMEC,” according to Chintamani Mahapatra, founder of the Kalinga Institute of Indo Pacific Studies in New Delhi. “In the midst of this conflict, the whole idea of IMEC is getting lost.”
‘Wake-Up’ Call
Pointing out that the project involves passing through some of the most volatile regions of the Middle East, analysts say the war is a “wake-up” call about the scale of challenges IMEC will have to confront.
“The new war is a tragic reminder of just how difficult it will be to build out the new corridor,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, said in emailed comments to VOA. “It’s not just a matter of financing challenges, but also of stability and diplomatic cooperation. The war makes it painfully clear that these conditions remain elusive.”
When the project was announced, Washington’s push for normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel was making headway and there were hopes that this could transform longstanding Mideast rivalries. A reliable link between Saudi Arabia and Israel is a crucial element of the project. An agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia would have followed the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords which saw Israel establish diplomatic relations in 2020 with three Arab countries.
