IMEC Needed Amidst Volatility: Italy''s Envoy

New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) The ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor project was started with a "lot of hope" and such initiatives are needed especially in times of volatility and uncertainty driven by global security challenges, Italy's envoy for IMEC, Francesco Talo' said.

In an exclusive interview to PTI Videos at the Italian Embassy here on Wednesday, he also said that less than a month after its launch in New Delhi in 2023, there was a "terrible attack" against Israel on October 7, and this impacted the project.

"Therefore, things were slipping, frozen. But, now there is a renewed interest," the envoy said.

The Israel-Hamas conflict still goes on, and the Middle East (or West Asia) region has seen wide-scale volatility and uncertainty over the last two years, including the recent twelve-day military confrontation between Israel and Iran in June.

"I would say that especially in times of volatility or uncertainty, we need projects like this (IMEC). We need to have a differentiation. We need to be ready to play on different grounds. So, not to be conditioned only by one route, by one interlocutor," Talo' told PTI in the interview.

Cautioning that in times of great inter-dependence today, he underlined that one needs to be on one hand "not too dependent" on any one option, and on the other hand, need to live in a system of inter-dependence.

Talo', a seasoned diplomat, visited India earlier this week to take part in a meeting of representatives of countries which are partners in the IMAC initiative. He also met India's deputy National Security Advisor.

"I have had meetings with part of the administration, especially with people in the National Security Council and the external affairs ministry. And I'm planning to meet other people today (Wednesday) in order to better understand the importance of our partner India," he added.

So it's good that in this very city, the "first meeting" among the special envoys of IMEC was held, the diplomat said.

"I was here when the initiative was launched in September 2023. I was with my Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. And, we had a clear vision of a great opportunity for our countries, for our shared interests," Talo' said, adding, IMEC was started with a "lot of hope" and it was very much linked to the idea of having important political and economic results.

And, this is the moment really to have a "transition" from a phase of conferences, interviews, and some public events to a "more concrete phase of action", he asserted.

Billed as a pathbreaking initiative, the IMEC envisages a vast road, railroad and shipping networks among Saudi Arabia, India, the US and Europe with an aim to ensure integration among Asia, Middle East and the West.

The IMEC initiative was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023.

An agreement was signed by India, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US and some other G20 partners for the corridor.

EU signatories Italy, France, and Germany are partners in this transnational connectivity project.

Many strategic affairs watchers have described the IMEC as perhaps an answer to China's massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a mega infrastructure and connectivity project that will involve a large number of countries.

Asked about his views on BRI, Talo' described it as "another project" and different from IMEC.

"They are different by nature. Their members are different. So, I don't want to.. I don't like the idea of presenting IMEC as something against them. It's something for us, for our partners, for our peoples. And, then there can be other initiatives," he said.

Italy had joined BRI in 2019. According to international reports, it had announced its withdrawal from it, four years later.

Talo' emphasised that when it comes to realising the IMEC vision, there are financial challenges and practical infrastructure challenges.

"It involves several countries. We all know that it's not going to be simple," he said.

"But it could be a great opportunity, because we see great prospects of growth for all of us," the envoy said.

Talo' underlined that one cannot have real security and peace "when only one nation is rich". There is need for entire region to grow, and of course innovation can somehow be the lead for these changes for the better.

"We are already seeing this in India," he said.

The Gulf countries are also important protagonists, actors in innovation. "We can do it all together, and this will also benefit countries which have more problems," the envoy said, adding, this can somehow also "contribute to the peace process".

During the interaction, he also shared the reasons for Italy pitching its coastal city of Trieste as a "possible principal hub" in this corridor.

Also, India, the Middle East, and at least Italy and the Mediterranean countries in the same region, which "I like to call the Indo-Mediterranean region, we have a common interest that is an area of growing prosperity where, for instance, navigation and trade is free and open", Talo' said.

Italy, along with three other IMEC partner countries are also part of the powerful G7.

"Of course, the G7 countries can offer a contribution... Furthermore, I think it's important to take into account the role of the European Union with its Global Gateway initiative. So, the idea is that IMEC can be put under the umbrella of the Global Gateway," he said.