The G20 summit in New Delhi was surprisingly successful. The states agreed on the expansion of renewable energies. And on the sidelines, a new trade route from India to Europe was decided.
New Delhi/Frankfurt – Summit meetings are usually strictly choreographed and the unexpected rarely happens. But the G20 summit in New Delhi that just ended was full of surprises. Not only did the host, India’s Prime Minister, succeed Narendra Modito persuade the quarreling states to reach a joint final communiqué. The summit also provided evidence of how the environment of major events can be used for separate agreements if there are good ideas.
So signed India on the sidelines of the meeting with the EU, the USA, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates a declaration of intent for a huge rail and shipping project. The partners want to create two transport corridors for trade between India and Europe. The infrastructure project called “India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor” (IMEC) is intended to… According to the US government stimulate economic growth, create incentives for new investments and thereby bring about a “transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East”. Those involved described the agreement as “historic”. The declaration of intent is also a signal that the West and the emerging global South can certainly work together if the right approaches are taken.
Trade Corridors from India to Europe: Answer to China’s Silk Road
Just in time for its tenth birthday, China’s New Silk Road is getting a real competing program for the first time. The EU had already announced its networking and infrastructure Global Gateway at the beginning of 2022. mobilize around 300 billion euros from state and private sources by 2027. 87 projects are currently in the pipeline or have already been implemented. But so far these have mainly been individual projects, such as submarine cables, roads or bridges. Global Gateway is not yet a real competitor for the New Silk Road.
Just signed, IMEC is already surprisingly specific, even if there is still no figure for the costs. The Eastern Corridor is intended to connect India and the Persian Gulf, including through better ports in the United Arab Emirates and new submarine cables for internet and electricity. The connection from the Middle East to Europe forms the northern corridor, including by means of a new railway line from the Emirates across Saudi Arabia via Jordan to Israel. It thus connects states that were enemies not so long ago, which in the best case can have a truly integrative effect.
Modi: New program promotes India’s integration with Europe
The partners want to lay cables for electricity and the Internet along the tracks, as well as lines for transporting hydrogen. From the Israeli port city of Haifa, the freight then continues by ship, for example to ports on the Mediterranean. It makes sense that Global Gateway should be integrated with IMEC and finance some of the projects. The new connection will speed up trade between India and Europe by 40 percent, said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. The ship’s trade currently passes through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
“IMEC can help promote economic integration between India and Europe,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, while US President Joe Biden called it “a big deal, a really big deal”. He pushed the project significantly, even if it wasn’t about trade flows to the USA. Washington sees things primarily in the larger geopolitical context: And one of the most important goals is to tie India more closely to the West, as a counterweight to the People’s Republic of China.
China in New Delhi only as a spectator
China’s head of state Xi Jinping was not even present in New Delhi. And so this time he was unable to throw his great political weight into the balance. Instead, his Prime Minister Li Qiang had to take note of the new project in New Delhi. Li immediately called for more cooperation with the EU on the sidelines of the G20 meeting. China and Europe, as the two main drivers of global development, should cooperate even more closely, said Li Qiang in a conversation with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The People’s Republic stands ready to work with Europe to host an EU-China summit this year and strengthen mutual trust.
It is still completely unclear whether the IMEC plans will be implemented as decided. At least there should be more details in 60 days. As Xi Jinping When the New Silk Road was launched with a speech in 2013, he also wanted to better network the states of Central Asia with China and create new trade routes through new infrastructure. Initially the response was low. The Silk Road has now become a global program worth billions. This is certainly an incentive for the ambitious Modi.
G20 a great success for India’s Modi
In general, the G20 summit is a great success for India’s prime minister. Before the summit, expectations were very low. In order to even get a common final text, the criticism of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine was greatly generalized. There is criticism of this, including from Kiev – and yet it is a success that an agreement was reached at all. Many Modi did not believe that would happen.
The almost 30-page document also includes a plan to triple electricity generation from renewable energies by 2030. The idea came from Kenya, but there was initially a lot of controversy on this point too. The G20 final declaration now emphasizes “the significant investments required for the energy transition”. writes Linda Kalcherdirector of the EU climate think tank Strategic Perspectives on X. “This is a major success for the Indian presidency, especially in difficult geopolitical times.”
At India’s instigation, the African Union (AU) was also admitted to the G20. Modi was able to position his country as an advocate for the global south. This role is otherwise happy China a. And this means that the G20 summit is a clear point win for Modi against his rival in Beijing.
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