A another step towards farewell to the Silk Road. Giorgia Meloni in New Delhi for the G20 signs the agreement for the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor, which Joe Biden defines as “a great investment” and no one says it is against China, but the challenge of strengthening integration between Asia , the Gulf region and Europe can only be read as the alternative to the “Belt and Road” launched in 2013 by Xi Jinping.
On the sidelines of the G20, the prime minister signs the agreement together with the United States, Saudi Arabia, the EU, India, Germany, France and the United Arab Emirates, in the same hours in which he has a bilateral meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. “The common intention of “consolidating and deepening the dialogue between Rome and Beijing on the main bilateral and international issues” is confirmed. “Both strong in a thousand-year history – underlines Palazzo Chigi in a note – Italy and China share a Global Strategic Partnership of which next year will mark the twentieth anniversary and will constitute the beacon for the advancement of friendship and collaboration between the two Nations in every sector of common interest”.
But the center of gravity of the Meloni government’s foreign policy has now shifted entirely towards the United States and the European Unionwith Italy which “wants to contribute to building bridges between the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, also in the field of energy and digital connections across Africa and the Arabian Gulf”
“When we launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) a year ago, we committed to building better infrastructure for a better future in low- and middle-income nations,” the Prime Minister recalled in her speech in New Delhi in occasion of the signing of the memorandum -. We are committed to working with these nations with an egalitarian, non-predatory approach to create new opportunities and prosperity.”. AND the new economic corridor between India, the Middle East and Europe “goes exactly in this direction, its fundamental objective is to strengthen global interconnections”.
“I want to thank Prime Minister Modi, President Biden, President von der Leyen and everyone else who made this possible,” the prime minister said, stating that “obviously Italy is ready to play a decisive role in this process, also because Italian companies have unique experience in the maritime and railway sectors“.
The corridor, according to Biden, “will create jobs and strengthen food security. It is an investment that represents a turning point. Let us work together united”. In the meantime, it produced the first result of a “warm handshake” between the American president and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, after the tensions of recent months over the Khashoggi case.
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