Opinion | From Corridor To Network: Why IMEC Must Be Built For A World Of Disruption

Trump’s renewed backing gives the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor momentum. But the conflicts around Hormuz, Red Sea and Levant reveal its real test

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The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) was conceived in 2023 as an ambitious infrastructure project linking three strategically important regions through an integrated system of ports, railways, roads, energy infrastructure and digital connectivity. Its founding memorandum envisaged an eastern corridor connecting India with the Arabian Gulf and a northern corridor linking the Gulf with Europe through Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.

Three years later, however, IMEC faces a paradox. The geopolitical crises that make alternative trade routes more necessary have simultaneously exposed the vulnerabilities of the route originally envisaged.

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US President Donald Trump’s renewed endorsement of IMEC has therefore arrived at an important moment. Speaking on September 22 during the UN General Assembly, Trump linked his support for the corridor to the vulnerability of Middle Eastern energy infrastructure amid the conflict with Iran. His administration’s position gives the project renewed political visibility at a time when the security of the Strait of Hormuz has become a central concern for global trade and energy markets.

But political endorsement alone cannot make IMEC resilient.

The central question now is whether IMEC should remain a corridor or evolve into a network. That distinction could determine whether the project becomes a transformative Eurasian trade architecture or remains vulnerable to the very geopolitical shocks it was designed to mitigate.

The original concept already represented an important departure from conventional transport planning. India, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, France, Germany and Italy agreed in 2023 to develop an integrated ship-to-rail network supplemented by roads, electricity connections, digital cables and clean-hydrogen infrastructure.

Its strategic significance goes beyond simply shortening the distance between India and Europe. IMEC........

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