Modi Pushes Ahead With Mideast-Europe Corridor Despite War

(Bloomberg) --  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to continue working on a major trade corridor linking India through the Middle East to Europe, despite the widening regional conflict stemming from the war between Israel and Hamas. 

Modi met with UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi at the start of a three-day trip to the region, where the war and conflict in the Red Sea featured heavily in discussions, according to India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.

Both leaders agreed, though, to take the first step to operationalize part of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, he said. 

While the conflict in Gaza and the situation in the Red Sea remains a concern and both leaders continue to monitor and exchange notes on the issues, “it is equally important to ensure the economic cooperation is taken forward, continues to stay the course and maintain momentum,” Kwatra told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Modi’s visit to the UAE is the latest sign of warmer ties between the two countries, with both nations looking to deepen commercial, strategic and cultural relations. The visit was Modi’s seventh to the UAE since 2015 and the third in the past eight months, according to India’s government. The last Indian premier to visit the UAE before him was Indira Gandhi in 1981. 

Modi is also seeking to boost his global stature ahead of elections that are likely to kick off in April. He’s due on Wednesday to inaugurate the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, and on Tuesday addressed thousands of Indians workers, hailing ties between the two countries and calling the UAE leader his brother. 

Modi further praised India’s partnership with the UAE in a speech at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Wednesday. He encouraged cooperation among developing countries, saying “we have to listen to the voice of the ‘Global South’ and bring forward their priorities.”

The IMEC corridor — touted by the US and its allies last year — is an ambitious ship-to-rail network that’s meant to link India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. The project aims to boost trade and speed up the transport of goods, although it’s also seen as a way to counter China’s influence and massive infrastructure investment in the region.  

The UAE trip also yieled agreements on a bilateral investment treaty and cooperation on electricity connection and digital infrastructure, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. 

AD Ports Group, the Abu Dhabi logistics company, said Wednesday it reached an agreement with the Indian transportation firm RITES Ltd. and the Gujarat Maritime Board. The three agreed to develop new ports, railways and other infrastructure, as well as explore joint opportunities related to IMEC, AD Ports said in a statement. 

Modi will visit Qatar after his trip to the UAE, and is expected to meet with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The trip follows days after Qatar freed eight former Indian navy personnel who were facing death sentences for alleged spying. Modi was personally involved in helping to secure the release of the men, India’s foreign secretary said earlier this week.

(Adds details on India-UAE partnership and an MoU on infrastructure development)

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