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Through high-level talks with Trump, Macron, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and efforts to ease...
Read More PM Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the region is stirred with conflict and tensions. Israel is locked in a conflict with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, and tensions with Iran are also simmering consistently. Meanwhile, Syria remains destabilised with regime change and civil wars.
The global tide of geopolitics is also shifting. US President Donald Trump is back in office and has launched a global tariff war, seeking to renegotiate trade terms with all other nations. Meanwhile, he is also trying to bring a close to the Russia-Ukraine war in which Saudi Arabia is playing the role of mediator.
For Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, there is much catching up to do. Saudi Arabia has a $100 billion investment plan for India that needs to be expedited. Also on the agenda are strengthening defence, energy, and major trade ties.
The most fundamental question concerns the IMEC: can India, Saudi Arabia, and their regional, European, and American partners stitch together an economic corridor robust enough to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? Announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is a transcontinental trade and transport network connecting India to Europe via the Middle East — cutting across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, before reaching Europe through Greece and Italy. Termed as a modern Silk Route, it will reduce logistics costs by up to 30 per cent and cut transportation time by 40 per cent. For example, it takes about 15 to 16 days for cargo to be shipped from Mumbai to Piraeus in Greece.
With IMEC, the time could be reduced to 10 to 11 days, saving 5 to 6 transit days. The vision is about laying rail lines and fibre cables, enhancing port connectivity and creating a seamless, secure, and resilient supply chain that could emerge as the preferred alternative to China’s debt-laden BRI projects. But for IMEC to thrive, stability in West Asia is non-negotiable, and Saudi Arabia, as the leading voice in the region, stands at the heart of this equation.
The project hit a roadblock just weeks after the agreement was signed, when Hamas carried out the gruesome 7 October attack on Israel in 2023, altering the region’s trajectory. Israel launched a war on Gaza, and political opinion about Israel in Arab nations—including Saudi Arabia—plummeted, just as Israel was hoping to clinch normalisation of ties with Riyadh, akin to the Abraham Accords signed with the UAE. The region plunged into such deep animosity that, for a moment, it seemed the IMEC was dead on arrival.
But thanks to India’s efforts, there is now hope. According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, although the necessary groundwork could not be completed following the signing of the framework agreement in 2023, individual countries have made some progress in “infrastructure linkages". He added that work is set to begin imminently on connecting electricity grids, which he described as one of the “major pillars of the IMEC initiative".
So, while progress is slow, the IMEC is advancing, with some stakeholders making headway at the individual level. Misri said, “The security situation in the region makes it seem as if progress has frozen on IMEC, but we have been working with select partners." He also went on to highlight how India is also working to control the violence between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, engaging the Palestinians and Israelis as well as Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
India, with its strong relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia, the US, and all other IMEC partners, can leverage its balanced position in West Asia and its cordial ties with the major stakeholders to revitalise the project. And Prime Minister Modi has been on this journey. When he met President Trump earlier this year, he raised the IMEC and its grand potential.
Trump was receptive to the idea. Prior to that, he met President Macron, reaffirming their shared commitment to the project. And now, we have Saudi Arabia—a central figure in the IMEC.
Saudi Arabia is not just another pit stop on the map of IMEC — it is the anchor. Geographically central, politically influential, and flush with investment capital, the Kingdom’s role is pivotal. The Saudi leadership, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), has been pursuing an ambitious plan of its own—Vision 2030—aimed at diversifying its economy away from oil dependency.
IMEC fits perfectly into this vision. Saudi Arabia’s own Neom project—a $500 billion mega-city on the Red Sea—will likely depend on IMEC for materials, technology, and talent. Indian firms are already participating in Neom’s construction and design.
A functioning IMEC would offer Saudi Arabia a logistics and trade boost, linking its Red Sea ports and the futuristic NEOM city to both Indian manufacturers and European markets. For India, this partnership could cut shipping times by days, avoid geopolitical chokepoints like the Suez Canal or the conflict-ridden Red Sea, and build new resilience into global commerce. As PM Modi prepares to meet MBS in Jeddah, the agenda will be much broader than trade statistics and investment promises.
It will be about infusing a deeper strategic angle in the two nations’ strategic partnership. IMEC could emerge as the signature project of this partnership — one that connects more than just geographies. It could realign global trade, offering a non-coercive, economically sound alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
But for this corridor to take shape, Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment and India’s proactive diplomacy will be the twin pillars of success. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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