New Delhi ∙ US President Joe Biden’s statement that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor announced at the G20 Summit in Delhi last month behind the sudden Hamas-Israel conflict was expected in the diplomatic field.
Strong opposition was also expected as it was an economic plan that would bring together many traditional rivals in the Middle East region. The Economic Corridor can only become a reality if there is good cooperation between Israel and the Arab countries, which have recently begun to normalize relations.
The corridor was officially announced on September 9 during the G-20 summit. The announcement was made by India, US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and European Union. Western European countries like France, Italy and Germany will also be included in the plan.
The goal is to build a trade and communication corridor connecting South Asia, West Asia, Europe and North Africa, along with renewing the road-rail-ship routes that were spread in Central Asia and Europe before the Second World War, and building new routes through the Arabian deserts. Many see it as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The project was conceived in the context of changing power relations in the Middle East on 2 levels over 6 years. 1. Israel-Arab relations, which began with backdoor relations and moved towards open diplomatic relations. Behind this was mainly American pressure, and to a lesser extent from India. 2. The recent Iran-Saudi Arabia talks mediated by China.
India’s interest in the project is that goods can be transported from India to Haifa port on the Mediterranean coast of Israel (Haifa port is partly controlled by the Adani Group) and from there to Europe and North Africa via ships or new railways under construction in the Gulf countries. The project was discussed in detail at the recently formed I2U2 (India-Israel-US-UAE) forum. But the current conflict proves that no plan can be implemented by forgetting or putting aside the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is the fundamental problem of the Middle East.
English Summary:
Hamas Israel attack
#HamasIsrael #Conflict #Economic #Corridor #Collapse
2023-10-26 17:44:39
