(VOVWORLD) - A broad alliance of states on Saturday unveiled ambitious plans to create a modern-day Spice Route linking Europe, the Middle East, and India, boosting trade ties with potentially wide-ranging geopolitical implications.
 India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) delivers a speech at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India on September 09, 2023. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
|
The US, Saudi Arabia, the EU, the United Arab Emirates, and others launched the initiative to link railways, ports, electricity and data networks and hydrogen pipelines on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi.
One proposed project would link railway and port facilities across the Middle East including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, potentially speeding trade between India and Europe by up to 40%.
Signatories hope it can help integrate India's vast market of 1.4 billion people with countries to the west, boost Middle Eastern economies, and help normalise relations between Israel and Gulf Arab states.
This is a real big deal, US President Joe Biden said at the launch event, calling the plan "historic".
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the India–Middle East–Europe economic corridor was a green and digital bridge across continents and civilization.