France backs IMEEC as key to India-Middle East-Europe trade connectivity
Gérard Mestrallet, French President Macron’s Special Envoy for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), who was in India this week told ET’s Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury that President Emmanuel Macron has made this project a priority. Macron sees IMEEC as a way to enhance connectivity and foster integration between India, the Arabian Gulf and the European Union.
Q: Can you share French perspective on IMEEC?
A: France has been a staunch supporter of the IMEEC project from the outset.
We were one of the eight signatories of the MoU establishing IMEEC on the margins of the G20 summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September 2023. France is the first country which appointed, in 2023, a Special Envoy dedicated to this project. I intend to bring my longstanding experience in the industry (I have been the CEO of the global energy company ENGIE for more than 20 years) to take concrete steps to move forward on IMEEC.
Since his visit in India, President Macron has made this project a priority. He sees IMEEC as a way to enhance connectivity and foster integration between India, the Arabian Gulf and the European Union, while developing greener logistics solution along this route. From a geopolitical perspective, IMEEC will be an important piece of our Indo-Pacific strategy.
It should be a project that benefits us all, beyond the signatories. It is important to mention that since the inception phase, the objective of this Corridor has been supply chain diversification. We think that IMEEC should include different roads which will irrigate the hinterlands of India, the Middle-East and Europe.
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