President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the passing of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
President Joe Biden and the other world leaders who make up the G20 – a global economic coalition of nations – revealed new plans for a rail and shipping corridor linking India with the Middle East and Europe that would go through Israel. The plan was announced at the G20 Leaders’ event on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
The G20 called this a “landmark” corridor and expects that it will stimulate economic development through “enhanced connectivity and economic integration across two continents, thus unlocking sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”
“Through the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” said the White House, “we aim to usher in a new era of connectivity with a railway, linked through ports connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The United States and our partners intend to link both continents to commercial hubs and facilitate the development and export of clean energy; lay undersea cables and link energy grids and telecommunication lines to expand reliable access to electricity; enable innovation of advanced clean energy technology; and connect communities to secure and stable Internet.”
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“This is a big deal,” said Biden. “This is a really big deal.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is optimistic about the news and issued a statement calling the plan an “unprecedented international project that will link infrastructure from Asia to Europe.”
“This link will also realize a multi-year vision that will change the face of the Middle East, and Israel, and will affect the entire world,” he said.
Benjamin Netanyahu also called the plan a” pioneering initiative to develop an economic corridor from India, through the Middle East, to Europe” and told he Israeli public that the country will be a central junction in this economic corridor.
Its vision reshapes the face of our region and allows a dream to become reality. The initiative includes the construction of railways, the laying of a hydrogen pipeline, the energy of the future, the laying of fiber optic communications cables, the laying of electricity cables and more infrastructure.
Netanyahu pledged that the State of Israel will contribute its “capabilities, all of its experience, momentum and commitment, to realize the largest cooperation project in our history. All government ministries will be instructed to join in realizing this dream.”
He directed Israel’s National Security Council, in the Prime Minister’s Office, to coordinate the staff work and also the close cooperation with the US and other countries in order for “this vision to become reality as soon as possible. Today is a day of major news for all citizens of Israel, news that will lead us to a new, unique and unprecedented era of global and regional cooperation and involvement. Together we will succeed.”
But is may be too early for such celebratory comments. No details for the plan have been released and at this time no nation in the areas to be connected has said that it agreed to it.
The success if any such new corridor will also be contingent on whether or not Israel and Saudi Arabia can reach an agreement on a peace deal. Much has been reported lately that the two nations working on a deal.
