It is no exaggeration to say that the most important outcome of the two-day G-20 summit in the Indian capital of New Delhi is this huge economic corridor project unveiled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in meetings held on the sidelines of the summit.
The Saudi prince announced the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding that would lead to the establishment of green corridors across continents, as he described it, or an economic corridor linking India, the Middle East and Europe, aimed at enhancing economic connectivity, developing and rehabilitating infrastructure and increasing trade exchange between the concerned parties.
This MoU includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United States, Germany, India, France, Italy and the European Union.
This project, which Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled in the presence of US President Joe Biden, Chairman of the Summit Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and a number of leaders and officials of other countries, will contribute to the development and rehabilitation of infrastructure that includes railways, linking ports, increasing the passage of goods and services, enhancing trade exchange between the concerned parties, and laying pipelines for the export and import of electricity. and hydrogen to enhance the security of the global energy supply, as well as cables to transmit data through a highly efficient and reliable cross-border network.
The MoU will “also support clean energy development efforts, and its implementation will contribute to generating new and qualitative jobs and long-term gains along transit corridors for all parties.”
During the MOU announcement, Biden expressed his thanks to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and addressed him, saying: “I would like to say, thank you, thank you, thank you, Mohammed bin Zayed. I don’t think we could have achieved that without you.”
What is the Green Corridor project that Biden called a really big deal?
The economic corridor will consist of two separate corridors, an eastern corridor linking India to the Persian Gulf; and a northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe. Upon completion, the railway will provide a reliable and cost-effective cross-border transit network from ship to rail to complement existing sea and land transport routes.
According to the White House, the corridor will increase efficiency, reduce costs, boost economic unity, create jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, leading to transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The parties also agreed to reach an “action plan” within the next sixty days.
Read: Global leaders to meet in India-hosted G20 Summit
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission described the economic corridor as “historic” and a “green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations”. “It’s part of an initiative called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment, and it will be the most direct connection yet that will make trade faster,” she said.
She added that the economic corridor will make trade between India and Europe 40 percent faster.
EU officials said the EU’s role in the agreement was negotiated during a visit by von der Leyen to Abu Dhabi on Thursday, during talks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
They added that this cooperation is a key part of the EU’s efforts to deepen trade and investment ties with Gulf states, especially in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The EU has allocated spending up to 300 billion euros on infrastructure investments abroad between 2021 and 2027 through the “Global Gateway” project, which was launched in part to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and defend European interests with key trading partners.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country would work with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq on a railway corridor and ports in the region.
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