NEW DELHI: The proposed India-Middle East-Europe economic Corridor (IMEC) will be a strategic and economic game changer for India, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim budger speech.
"The recent India-Middle East-Europe economic Corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others. In the words of the Prime Minister, the corridor and I quote, the corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil," Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday during her budget speech in the Lok Sabha.
At the G20 Summit which took place in India on September 9-10, India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the India-Middle East-Europe economic Corridor.
The corridor, once in place, will encourage and provide impetus to economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Earlier, in September 2023, while addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), US President Joe Biden lauded the India-Middle East-Europe economic Corridor and said the project will spur opportunities for investment across two continents.
Biden said that the rail port project is part of an effort to build a more sustainable integrated Middle East.
"Connecting India to Europe through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel will spur opportunities for investment across two continents. This is part of our effort to build a more sustainable integrated Middle East," Biden said.
Meanwhile, the interim budget revealed that Bhutan was the leading recipient of Indian government grants and loans. The Indian government provided Rs 6541.79 crore to foreign governments which included Rs 4927 crore as grants and Rs 1614.36 crore as loans, as per revised estimates.
1) Bhutan - 2,398.97 crore (including 1,614.36 crore loan)
2) Maldives - 770.90 crore
3) Nepal - 650 crore
4) Myanmar - 370 crore
5) Mauritius - 330 crore
6) Afghanistan - 220 crore
7) Bangladesh - 130 crore
8) Sri Lanka - 60 crore
9) Seychelles - 9.91 crore
10) Mongolia - 5 crore
