India firm on turning IMEC into reality

The plan for India-Middle East-Europe Corridor was unveiled in Delhi G20.

- T. BRAJESH

Brushing aside apprehensions that the war between Israel and Hamas will cast a shadow on the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is more determined than before to translate his "ambitious initiative" into reality. Undeterred by the negative developments in West Asia, Prime Minister Modi has decided to fast-track the process to make this "corridor project" a reality, The Sunday Guardian has learnt. "All establishments-from the MEA, NSA, Railways, ports, internal and external security to Finance, Commerce and Industry Ministries have been put in mission mode to ensure smooth operations of all the phases leading to completion of IMEC," a diplomatic source told The Sunday Guardian.

As part of this mission, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval will be engaging with all stake-holders in the IMEC project, sources said. Jaishankar's conversation with his counterpart from the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday (11 October) was understandably a part of this diplomatic mission. Jaishankar was in Sri Lanka when he spoke to Nahyan. Sources said that while discussing the crisis in West Asia triggered by the attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists and Tel Aviv's counter offensive, the two foreign ministers also spoke about IMEC. "Spoke to Foreign Minister @ABZayed of UAE this evening. Discussed the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Agreed to stay in touch," the External Affairs Minister said in a post on X.