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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 17, 2025

NEW DELHI - Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal Wednesday said the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, known as IMEC, will bring down logistics costs by up to 30%, lower transportation time by 40%, and create seamless trade linkages across continents.

"We will not only be linking trade; we will be linking civilizations and cultures — from Southeast Asia to the Gulf, from the Middle East to Central Europe," Goyal said at India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor High-Level Roundtable here.

Goyal said the corridor could even improve connectivity to Africa through the Middle East. The corridor would include railways, roadways, energy pipelines, and clean energy infrastructure, including undersea cables, he said. "India is already in discussions with Singapore on clean energy transmission. We are also engaged in dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the UAE," the minister said.

Goyal said the corridor can't be a government initiative alone and collaborative model is required where the private sector leads, brings real-world expertise and innovative capabilities. The minister said counties part of the corridor must look at better alignment in trade processes, customs procedures, and paperwork. "Interoperable systems, digitization, electric vehicle charging ecosystems, and synchronized regulations would be key to unlocking economies of scale," the commerce ministry said in a release.

Goyal suggested that common digital payment systems, such as India's Unified Payments Interface, could serve as a model for enabling seamless financial transactions. "With periodic settlement in globally accepted reserve currencies, such mechanisms could reduce transactional friction and banking costs," the release said.

Goyal said such innovations can support free trade agreements with Gulf Cooperation Council and European Union countries and bolster joint work in green hydrogen, renewable energy, and supply chain resilience.  End

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

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