Latest news with #RaisinaMediterraneanDialogue
Hindustan Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
In climate of conflicts, a corridor of necessity
With the airspace closed over Iran and denied over Pakistan, the Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi last weekend flew southeast over Athens, crossed the Mediterranean to Cairo, turned east to fly across the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula to Oman and then over the sea to enter India in the Kutch region. Nearly 12,000 metres above sea level, it traced the path of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). I was returning from the inaugural edition of the Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue, where every session turned into a discussion on IMEC. The flight was evidence of both its existence and necessity. Few positive ideas have energised the world in recent times as much as IMEC after it was unveiled in September 2023 in Delhi at the G20 Summit of the Indian presidency. There have been competing claims on its provenance, with western literature often describing it as a US-led initiative. However, it was initially conceived as a post-Covid project for a strategic India-Middle East corridor by India's national security advisor. It was later extended to Israel's Mediterranean port of Haifa and onwards to Europe to serve multiple Indian geopolitical and economic goals. In IMEC, the Gulf seeks to reprise its historical role in trade, diversify its economy and markets and pursue its geopolitical ambitions. The US entered the project, drawn by regional competition with China and hope of normalising Arab-Israel relations; however, conditions and US relevance may have changed now. Geopolitical, economic, energy, and digital connectivity interests attracted Europe, seeking to rebalance relations amidst structural external shocks. Following France, Italy, Germany and the EU became members. The raging and expanding conflicts in the Middle East since IMEC's launch have raised grave doubts about the initiative. To the contrary, the developments only reinforce the need for resilient corridors that connect India and Europe and, more broadly, the Indo-Pacific with the Euro-Atlantic. IMEC is often imagined as a mega infrastructure project along a single multimodal route entailing hundreds of billion dollars in investments with its attendant challenges of financing, risk mitigation and timelines. However, almost 90% of the infrastructure already exists — sea connectivity between India and the Gulf; the growing rail network across the Gulf; and world-class ports that dot the Mediterranean coasts. The rail link between Saudi Arabia and Haifa remains to be built. But, if that gap remains too politically difficult to bridge at the moment, there are alternatives through Egypt, Lebanon and, if it stabilises, through Syria. In any case, just as redundancies are built into strategic telecommunication networks, shippers should have the flexibility to switch between alternative nodes for secure, quick and competitive logistics. It is, therefore, important to think of IMEC as a network rather than a single route. The Suez, too, will continue to remain the key shipping route, especially for bulk cargo. IMEC will, however, reduce the relevance of the circuitous route around the African continent. Multiple submarine cables carrying data already link India to Europe. The data capacity is set to grow with Blue-Raman. In Marseille, emerging as a major submarine cable junction, India accounts for a significant share of the capacity of data centres. The pipelines and submarine cables transmitting clean hydrogen and electricity from the Gulf in either direction may seem overly ambitious. But such submarine projects already exist in the world. New ones are already gaining attention and financing. The 2,000-km EastMed-Poseidon gas pipeline to transport Israeli/Cypriot gas to Greece, the Euro-Asia connector linking their electricity grid or the hydrogen pipeline from Tunisia-Algeria to Italy and onwards are examples of new projects. The IMEC should get higher priority under the European Union's Global Gateway. What is needed most is connecting the dots for coordinated development of the infrastructure being established nationally or by a group of countries along the corridor; an agreement between governments on the seamless and smooth transit of goods on a multimodal, multi-country network; harmonisation of standards and governance; enabling framework for accelerating trade, such as the conclusion of the EU-India free trade agreement; industrial acceleration in India; security cooperation; and, coordinating mechanisms involving participating governments and the private sector. Many companies operate across the corridor. IMEC has generated strong interest across Europe and triggered a deeper conversation on Mediterranean connectivity and integration. While ports in Greece, Croatia, Italy and France are vying to be the main terminal points, each would serve specific destinations in Europe. North African ports such as Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt and Tangiers in Morocco wish to be connected. A more integrated Mediterranean network would increase IMEC's value. Indeed, the M in IMEC could well stand for MENA (Middle East-North Africa). Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Cyprus and Croatia this week as also his earlier visits to Egypt, Greece, Italy and France, and possibly to Morocco in the near future, indicate an integrated vision of the Mediterranean basin — from the northern-most palm grove to the northern-most olive grove — for its own potential but also as a gateway to the vast African and European continents and beyond. The seas are one. Trouble in any maritime domain has global impact. The Mediterranean connects the East and the West. Not just the Middle East, the calm azure waters of the Mediterranean also carry challenges. Politics of immigration and security threatens Europe's links with North Africa. There are regional rivalries involving Turkey, Greece and Cyprus and the unstable eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean from Gaza to Syria. The spillover of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the growing Chinese economic and naval presence bring strategic competition to the region. A broader regional engagement by India and closer coordination among Mediterranean countries will help advance IMEC. The MENA region has multiple sources and layers of competition and conflict that are not easy to resolve. As Europe, India and the region seek deeper partnership, IMEC is a necessity. It is not one grand greenfield infrastructure project with an inauguration day. It is an evolving project that must be guided by realistic goals and concomitant design. Beyond political commitment and coordination, involvement of companies, including infrastructure, logistics, shipping, energy and digital, with operational experience along the route in shaping IMEC is vital. That is essential for IMEC to succeed and not go the way of several other corridors conceived with great enthusiasm. Jawed Ashraf is a retired Indian ambassador. The views expressed are personal.
Al Etihad
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Etihad
TRENDS participates in Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue in France, holds high-level meetings
17 June 2025 13:01 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)A TRENDS Research & Advisory delegation participated, as part of the World Government Summit Community's official delegation, in the Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue, which was held in the French city of Marseille. A distinguished group of senior decision-makers and experts from various countries participated in this round of dialogue, which constitutes a continuation of the Raisina Dialogue held in India. The TRENDS delegation included Mr. Mohammed Al-Dhahouri, Director of the Advanced Political Studies Department at TRENDS, and Mr. Rashid Al-Hosani, a Research Assistant at the centre. The delegation's participation featured a series of fruitful meetings and substantive discussions that addressed prominent contemporary geopolitical issues and explored opportunities to enhance international cooperation in addressing global the framework of TRENDS' participation in one of the main sessions, Professor Mohamed Al-Dhuhoori, Director of TRENDS Research and Advisory, addressed a direct question to His Excellency Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, regarding India's vision for the role of international multilateralism amid the dynamic transformations occurring on the global stage. The question generated significant engagement from the audience and underscored the importance of research on international TRENDS delegation held a series of high-level meetings with several distinguished individuals: Mehdi Jomaa, former Prime Minister of Tunisia; Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives; Suleiman bin Mohammed Al-Anbar, Minister Resident at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Saudi Arabia; Dr. Nicholas J. A. Bouchaud, global policy expert and Senior Fellow at the Institute of International Studies, New Delhi; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Member of the Indian Parliament; and Arvind Gupta, President and Co-Founder of the Digital India the event, TRENDS delegates met Reem Baggash, Deputy Managing Director of the World Government Summit Organisation, and the accompanying delegation to strengthen cooperation between TRENDS and the World Government Summit Mohammed Al-Dhahouri emphasised that participation in major international events aligns with TRENDS' commitment to maintaining an active presence on global dialogue platforms, keeping pace with developments in the international landscape, and fostering knowledge partnerships with various research institutions and think tanks worldwide. This reinforces the UAE's role in promoting mutual understanding and international cooperation. Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue is an annual multilateral platform that brings together industry leaders and experts from various continents to address shared challenges and formulate strategies contributing toward global security, stability, and sustainable development.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
India, France agree to intensify defence, space and civilian nuclear cooperation
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held wide-ranging discussions with French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on a range of issues and the two sides agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in areas like defence, security, space and civilian-nuclear also expressed India's "deep appreciation" to France for the strong condemnation of the cross-border terrorist attack that took place on April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and thanked Paris for its "steadfast support for India's right to defend itself against terrorism".Addressing a joint press conference in Marseille after the meeting, he underlined that there has been a "very high degree of trust" between India and France over the years as one looks at their relationship and said the two sides also discussed global and regional issues like the situation in the Indian subcontinent, the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific."It has always been our position that this is not an era where differences should be settled through war. We believe that dialogue and diplomacy is the answer... No solutions are going to come out of the battlefield has always been our position. We believe that direct negotiations between the parties concerned are most important," he minister said this is a widespread sentiment in the world, especially in the Global South, that nobody wants to see this conflict continue and the sooner it is brought to an end, the better it said that the two sides held "wide-ranging discussions, which covered defence, civilian nuclear energy, space, counterterrorism, people-to-people relations, innovation, AI, technology"."And, we spent a little while discussing how between education, research, business and mobility, how we can really add new ways of adding more substance to our relationship," he said."Defence, security, space, civilian nuclear cooperation, I think we agreed to intensify all of these through very concrete measures and projects in the time to come," he said they had "very good discussions" and it was a pleasure to participate in the Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue the Indo-Pacific, he said, both nations share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific where international law and maritime security are upheld. "We discussed joint efforts for collaboration to promote those objectives."He also recalled his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday."In terms of our strategic partnership, our enduring partnership, it is built on shared values, on a strong sense of sovereignty, our democratic commitment, on independence, on strategic autonomy guiding our foreign policy, and obviously our commitment to multilateralism and respect for international laws," he said."When I look at the horizon, what is important is the India-France Year of Innovation next year, so we are gearing up to use that as an additional new driver of our relationship, and we are in many ways trying to prepare for that," he February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France and co-chaired the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris along with said his conversations with Barrot also covered the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), and "our triangular development cooperation, how do we take forward some of our trilateral mechanisms, we have one with the UAE, and with Australia"."I look forward to a more detailed conversation about President Macron's recent visit to the Indo-Pacific," he termed culture and people-to-people ties between the two countries a "very special aspect of our relationship with France"."You welcome a lot of students to this country, we hope that the numbers can grow in the year to come. We also see France as a very valued partner in our national museum project in Delhi.. as well as we discussed cooperation for our National Maritime Heritage Complex that we are building," he a query on the AI place crash on Thursday, he said, "It's been really a very tragic event, and I have been in the last 24 hours, in touch with my counterparts in the UK, Portugal and Canada because they also lost their citizens.""We again appreciate very much the condolences, sympathy and support we got from the French government, and I think, we will have to wait to see more authoritative news about whatever has been found and what the analysis show," he said.
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Business Standard
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
India, France to intensify defence, space & civilian nuclear cooperation
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held wide-ranging discussions with French counterpart Jean-Nol Barrot on a range of issues and the two sides agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in areas like defence, security, space and civilian-nuclear collaboration. Jaishankar also expressed India's "deep appreciation" to France for the strong condemnation of the cross-border terrorist attack that took place on April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and thanked Paris for its "steadfast support for India's right to defend itself against terrorism". Addressing a joint press conference in Marseille after the meeting, he underlined that there has been a "very high degree of trust" between India and France over the years as one looks at their relationship and cooperation. He said the two sides also discussed global and regional issues like the situation in the Indian subcontinent, the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. "It has always been our position that this is not an era where differences should be settled through war. We believe that dialogue and diplomacy is the answer... No solutions are going to come out of the battlefield has always been our position. We believe that direct negotiations between the parties concerned are most important," he said. The minister said this is a widespread sentiment in the world, especially in the Global South, that nobody wants to see this conflict continue and the sooner it is brought to an end, the better it is. Jaishankar said that the two sides held "wide-ranging discussions, which covered defence, civilian nuclear energy, space, counterterrorism, people-to-people relations, innovation, AI, technology". "And, we spent a little while discussing how between education, research, business and mobility, how we can really add new ways of adding more substance to our relationship," he said. "Defence, security, space, civilian nuclear cooperation, I think we agreed to intensify all of these through very concrete measures and projects in the time to come," he added. Jaishankar said they had "very good discussions" and it was a pleasure to participate in the Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue here. On the Indo-Pacific, he said, both nations share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific where international law and maritime security are upheld. "We discussed joint efforts for collaboration to promote those objectives." He also recalled his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday. "In terms of our strategic partnership, our enduring partnership, it is built on shared values, on a strong sense of sovereignty, our democratic commitment, on independence, on strategic autonomy guiding our foreign policy, and obviously our commitment to multilateralism and respect for international laws," he said. "When I look at the horizon, what is important is the India-France Year of Innovation next year, so we are gearing up to use that as an additional new driver of our relationship, and we are in many ways trying to prepare for that," he said. In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France and co-chaired the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris along with Macron. Jaishankar said his conversations with Barrot also covered the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), and "our triangular development cooperation, how do we take forward some of our trilateral mechanisms, we have one with the UAE, and with Australia". "I look forward to a more detailed conversation about President Macron's recent visit to the Indo-Pacific," he added. Jaishankar termed culture and people-to-people ties between the two countries a "very special aspect of our relationship with France". "You welcome a lot of students to this country, we hope that the numbers can grow in the year to come. We also see France as a very valued partner in our national museum project in Delhi.. as well as we discussed cooperation for our National Maritime Heritage Complex that we are building," he added. On a query on the AI place crash on Thursday, he said, "It's been really a very tragic event, and I have been in the last 24 hours, in touch with my counterparts in the UK, Portugal and Canada because they also lost their citizens." "We again appreciate very much the condolences, sympathy and support we got from the French government, and I think, we will have to wait to see more authoritative news about whatever has been found and what the analysis show," he said.
