External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has warned about the “fragility” of existing connectivity channels and vouched for establishing alternative trade pathways amid mounting global challenges, including Houthi attacks in the Red Sea amid war in Gaza.
He expressed this concern during his address at the Second CII-India Europe Business and Sustainability Conclave on Tuesday, emphasising the importance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Launched in September 2023, it is a planned economic corridor that aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf, and Europe.
“When this understanding (IMEC) was reached in principle last September on the sidelines of the G20, perhaps not all of us were not adequately cognizant of the fragility of the existing connectivity,” Jaishankar said while talking about the issue of connectivity. Without mentioning the ongoing Gaza conflict, the external affairs minister said that “recent events” in the Red Sea and Gulf of Eden have reminded “fragility of connectivity channels.”
Since November, the Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over Israel’s war targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast, and Europe. During his address, Jaishankar also referred to the 2021 Suez Canal mishap, which had threatened to create a supply chain crisis. In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by a container ship that had run aground in the canal.
Citing the Red Sea attacks, Jaishankar underscored the importance of creating more connectivity corridors. “The need to create multiple corridors of connectivity, supporting corridors of connectivity, with their own inbuilt resilience, is something, which is vital. It is vital because, on either end of this, we have two big production and consumption centers — Europe and India,” he said. “IMEC is not the only corridor, there are others. There is a longer one, which is being worked through Iran.”
Speaking on the connectivity channels that may have long-term benefits for both India and Europe, Jaishankar also mentioned the Polar route, which he said has the potential to become a different logistical pathway between India and Europe, which will go through the Indo-Pacific. Furthermore, the minister said India would value working with Eupore on the issue of connectivity that is collaborative, transparent, based on vital projects, and doesn’t have hidden agendas. “By doing that, we will set before the world how international cooperation for connectivity should work and we hope other countries draw lessons from that model,” he stressed.
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