New Delhi [India], February 4 : Highlighting the importance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India is seeking to establish land connectivity with Southeast Asia,
The project, announced during the 2023 G20 Summit which was held in India's presidency, aims to enhance connectivity and bolster economic collaboration between India, the Middle East, and Europe.
During his keynote address at the IIC-Bruegel Annual Seminar in Delhi, the Foreign Minister pointed to the obstructions to the project caused due to the Middle East conflict.
"One particular initiative that I believe merits your attention is the IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. It (IMEC) has admittedly been slowed by the developments in the Middle East from October 2023. However, some initial steps have indeed commenced between India and Gulf nations," he said.
"We in India are simultaneously seeking to build land connectivity eastwards through Southeast Asia. Put together, this is actually an Atlantic to Pacific endeavour," the EAM added.
Jaishankar further pushed for progress on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union.
"On the FTA, I think it is really time we get along with it. We established the Trade and Technology Council to deal with controlled technologies and digital transactions. Our interactions today extend from disaster resilience and clean technologies to sustainable urbanization and infrastructure development," he said.
The Foreign Minister also emphasised that the European Union is India's "largest economic partner," and said their relationship can be an important stabilizing factor in amid global volatility and uncertainty.
"In a world that promises to be so volatile and so uncertain, a stronger India-EU relationship can be an important stabilizing factor. India is certainly cognizant of the greater strategic awakening of Europe in the last few years. That too can serve as a driver of deeper engagement. We already see that happening, for example, in closer defence in security and technology cooperation. The bottom line is that the India-EU relationship is more important than ever before," Jaishankar said.
He added, "In recent years there has been a more intensive engagement with the European Commission. We expect that to be even more in the coming days."
Notably, India and the EU are two of the world's largest economies having shared synergies and offering significant trade and investment opportunities. The EU is India's largest trading partner and India is the EU's 9th trading partner in terms of bilateral trade in goods.
{{{{twitter_post_id####}}}}Pleased to address the opening ceremony of the 2nd IIC-Bruegel Annual Seminar today in Delhi.
Highlighted that in a world that promises to be so volatile and uncertain, a stronger 🇮🇳 🇪🇺 relationship can be an important stabilizing factor.
Confident that the discussions under… https://t.co/pmcAPucOX5 pic.twitter.com/k8vh9nB39Q
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 4, 2025
Following his address, he shared a post on X and wrote, "Pleased to address the opening ceremony of the 2nd IIC-Bruegel Annual Seminar today in Delhi. Highlighted that in a world that promises to be so volatile and uncertain, a stronger relationship can be an important stabilizing factor. Confident that the discussions under this seminar would be a fruitful advocate of this convergence."
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