Economic and digital corridors to maritime connectivity, India and Italy building vision for future, says Italian ambassador

India and Italy continue to work towards enhancing collaboration in maritime and land infrastructure within the framework of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), in addition to concluding an agreement on cooperation in the maritime and port sector.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Bartoli expressed hope that the work on the “game-changer” IMEEC project would continue despite the current geopolitical crisis in the eastern Mediterranean region.

“It’s a privilege to represent a vision for the future, that at the same time is deeply rooted in the past. Rome and India already traded millennia, centuries ago. Black pepper was one thing that the King of Visigoths asked Rome for as a ransom because it was a precious and valuable good that we imported from India. So, this route has always been there. We are revitalizing that perspective. This will go across the Middle East, which is a tormented area now as we have seen what is happening in Syria,” said Bartoli.

Terming the corridor as a “vision for the future,” the seasoned diplomat believes that the perspective of common and shared prosperity can be a factor of stabilization and peace, even for the region embroiled in conflict currently.

“Italy is, has been, and will be the natural terminal of this corridor, especially with some ports like Trieste, which represent the gateway to the whole of Europe, especially Central and Eastern Europe. We are also working on a ports collaboration agreement with India that could also be game-changers in the future,” he added.

It was on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi in September 2023 that the leaders of India, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the US announced an MOU committing to work together to develop a new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) comprising two separate corridors: the east corridor connecting India to the Gulf and the northern corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe.

“The corridor will provide reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit networks to supplement existing maritime routes. It intends to increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, enhance economic cooperation, generate jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East (West Asia),” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had stated.

Involving multiple stakeholders, once completed, the IMEC corridor will eventually connect Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

“We are two peninsulas in the respective dimensions – you are a giant, but we are two peninsulas projecting into the respective sea, and so we are export countries. We are interested in connectivity, we are interested in stability, and so the Indo-Pacific is also a basin where you are, and the Mediterranean is the basin that we are. But, the two basins are connected in the area that is Indo-Mediterranean, and this area represents 70 per cent of the trade of goods and services, 60 per cent of foreign direct investments, and so it’s not by chance that we are engaged together,” states the Italian Ambassador.

“And, when I say IMEC, it is not only about railways and ships but also the internet because there is also a digital corridor. Our Telecom Sparkle, an Italian company, is completing the installation of a cable that will unite Mumbai, connect Mumbai to Geneva in Italy, and then Mumbai to Singapore. So, it’s a high-speed data highway, which will be another factor of connectivity. The reasons, as you see, are ancient, rooted in the past, and projected into the future,” he added.