After just three months of signing a framework agreement for the project, a high-level Indian delegation wrapped up its first round of discussions with UAE authorities on the development of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
Major UAE shipping hubs were visited by an interministerial delegation from India from May 15–17. The team included key officials from the Ministry of Shipping, Ports & Waterways, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Central Board of Excise and Customs, and Deendayal Upadhyay Port, Kandla. They had extensive talks with officials at Khalifa Port, Fujairah Port, and Jebel Ali Port throughout the course of their three-day visit over how to facilitate the flow of products along the proposed economic corridor that would connect India with markets in the Middle East and Europe.
In an attempt to work together to streamline trade flows under the IMEEC program, the group also met with customs officials from the United Arab Emirates. The quick scheduling of these follow-up talks following the bilateral framework agreement’s signing in February highlights how highly Abu Dhabi and New Delhi value the corridor. The agreement, signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s February visit to the UAE, permits cooperative investments and technical assistance for the development of the corridor with the goal of producing cost and logistical savings.