TRIESTE – Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani’s visit to India brings back into focus the importance of IMEC, the economic and logistics corridor on which the Government wants to accelerate.
In an op-ed published in Il Sole 24 Ore, Tajani explained that the goal is to create a stable axis between Europe and India, using Trieste and the Adriatic as a natural access point for trade flows. The link would include the Balkans, North African countries and, on the eastern side, the Gulf region.
For Tajani, India is an increasingly strategic partner. A country of 1.4 billion people, with an economy growing at 7% per year and set to become the world’s third largest. A young market, rich in start-ups and with strong technological development. The minister described the mission as particularly delicate also because of the international context, recalling the recent meeting between Modi and Putin and the need to foster diplomatic paths towards a lasting peace, from Ukraine to the Middle East.
The IMEC corridor fits into this long-term vision. Italy aims to connect the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific through simplified digital customs procedures and new infrastructure, such as the Blue & Raman subsea cable that will link Genoa to Mumbai. Trieste is cited as a key node to bring goods and data into Europe, thanks to the rail network towards the Centre and North-East of the continent.
During the mission, the minister recalled that more than 700 Italian companies already operate in India, and that the EU–India free trade agreement could give an additional boost to exchanges. The Italian Government has deployed dedicated instruments, including a €500 million credit line for internationalisation and guarantees for Indian buyers of Italian products. The objective is to raise trade volumes from €14 to €20 billion and increase investment in energy, infrastructure, mobility, advanced manufacturing and technology.
Tajani finally announced the creation of an Innovation Centre in India, to bring start-ups and tech companies from the two countries closer, and recalled the opening in Delhi of the exhibition “Shared Stories”, highlighting how cultural exchanges along the ancient route between the Mediterranean and India were already active in Augustus’ time. Even then, he noted, there was a primitive form of IMEC: today Italy aims to make it one of the most strategic corridors for global trade.
