Global leaders announced a multinational rail and ports deal linking Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia – via both Israel and Saudi Arabia – when they met on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi.
“This project turns a dream into a reality,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from Jerusalem.“It will change the face of the Middle East, the face of Israel, and will affect the entire world.”
“Israel will be a central junction in this economic corridor,” Netanyahu said. “Our railways and seaports will open a new gateway from India, through the Middle East to Europe, and also back.”
The US turned to Israel a few months ago with regard to this project, Netanyahu said, explaining that since then there has been intense diplomatic activity to arrive at this “historic announcement.”
In a video statement, Netanyahu thanked US President Joe Biden and his government for their immense efforts in creating this opportunity as he outlined the route on a map.
This will be Israel’s largest infrastructure project and it will be coordinated by the National Security Council, Netanyahu said. All relevant government offices have been instructed to put all their efforts into working with the US to execute this plan, he added.
In New Delhi, Biden said, “Today, I’m proud to announce that we’ve finalized a historic agreement for a new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
“As a key part of this corridor, we’re going to invest in ships and rail that extends from India all the way to Europe, connected by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel; bridging ports across two continents,” Biden stated.The pact, which Biden called a “real big deal,” comes at a critical time as his administration seeks to counter China’s Belt and Road push on global infrastructure by pitching Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries at the G20 grouping.
Biden’s announcement also comes amid US efforts for a broader diplomatic deal in the Middle East that would have Saudi Arabia recognize Israel.
The IMEC project, according to the White House, will involve two separate corridors, one that connects India to the Arabian Gulf and a second one that links the Arabian Gulf to Europe.
“Along the railway route, participants intend to enable the laying of cable for electricity and digital connectivity, as well as pipe for clean hydrogen export,’ the White House explained in a memorandum of understanding it posted on its website.
Those who committed to the MOU include: Saudi Arabia, the European Union, India, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, and the US.
This project, Biden explained, would bridge ports across two continents; “unlocking endless opportunities, including making it far easier to trade, export clean energy, expand access to reliable clean electricity, lay cables that will connect communities that secure a stable Internet, contributing a more stable, more prosperous, and integrated Middle East.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of summit host India said: “Today, as we embark upon such a big connectivity initiative, we are sowing the seeds for future generations to dream bigger.”
Israel-Europe energy corridor
Earlier this month, Netanyahu spoke about an energy corridor that would link Europe to Israel and onward to Saudi Arabia and Asia when he visited Cyprus to hold a trilateral meeting with his Cypriot and Greek counterparts.In July, Netanyahu said that the One Israel project – which would link Kiryat Shmona in the North with Eilat in the South via a high-speed train, was the opening leg of a larger railway project that in the future would connect Israel with Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk and US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf visited Saudi Arabia to discuss a pending security agreement between Riyadh and Washington.
They also met with a Palestinian delegation to discuss the normalization deal with Israel, which would be part of that US-Saudi security deal. It’s expected that Israel would have to make gestures to the Palestinians in exchange for the deal.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters en route to New Delhi for the G20 that “many of the elements of a pathway towards [Israeli-Saudi] normalization are now on the table. We don’t have a formal framework. We don’t have the terms, you know, ready to be signed. There’s still work to do. And we’re working through it.”
Still, he said, “I think there’s a broad understanding of many of the key elements, and the specifics require an incredible amount of legwork, discipline, rigor. And all of the stakeholders in this are applying that as we speak.”