Opinion | The Connectivity Compact: How India Is Rewiring the Global South's Trade Map

Updated: May 28, 2026 16:14 pm IST Published On May 28, 2026 16:12 pm IST Last Updated On May 28, 2026 16:14 pm IST

Published On May 28, 2026 16:12 pm IST

Last Updated On May 28, 2026 16:14 pm IST

When the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) was unveiled at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, much of the commentariat dismissed it as a press release in search of a route. Within weeks, the war in Gaza and the ensuing volatility in several parts of the world appeared to confirm that scepticism. Two and a half years later, however, that early caution looks premature. Construction on key IMEC components began in April 2025, and India and the European Union (EU) concluded their long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on 27 January 2026, an accord that liberalises tariffs on 96.6 per cent of EU goods exports to India and 99.5 per cent of Indian tariff lines on the EU side.

The temptation, naturally, is to read this story as New Delhi versus Beijing - yet another chapter in the Belt and Road counter-narrative. A closer reading suggests something different: a broader South-South connectivity model that is less grandiose than China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), less ideological than the West's Build Back Better World, and built around outcomes that host countries can measure in terms of jobs, tax receipts, and skills. The economic case has also strengthened, with estimates suggesting that IMEC could reduce Asia-Europe transit time by up to 40 per cent and logistics costs by around 30 per cent, while generating transit revenues for countries along the corridor once rail and cargo infrastructure are fully developed.

At the Indian end, IMEC's key anchor is the Vadhavan........

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