The ‘New Silk Road’ US, India & Saudis Want To Build

Despite the shortened trip, Modi and his team of officials prioritised IMEC, one of the key pillars of India’s global economic vision, which, if successfully implemented, is expected to link India to Europe through the Middle East via a sophisticated network of ports, railways, green energy corridors and digital infrastructure.

Reimagining The New 'Silk Route'

IMEC, which is being described by many as the New Silk Route, was announced during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in 2023. It is expected to offer a direct trade corridor that bypasses traditional shipping chokepoints like the Suez Canal. The route connects India with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and onwards to Europe — streamlining trade, reducing transit time by nearly 40 per cent, and significantly lowering transportation costs.

What sets the IMEC apart is not just its geographical sweep, but its strategic ambition. Modi, in an interview with Arab News earlier this week, described the corridor as “a key catalyst of commerce, connectivity and growth in the entire region”.

His Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, in a meeting on the project last week, said, “Not only will we be linking trade; we will also be linking civilisations and cultures — from Southeast Asia to the Gulf, and from the Middle East to Central Europe.”

Economists believe that the project has the potential of not only easing trade flows, but also laying the foundation “for a new era of industrial collaboration between Asia and the West”.

The corridor will be a hybrid transport and infrastructure network, beginning with a maritime link from India’s western coast to the UAE, followed by rail connections across Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Israel, and then a final maritime segment into Europe via ports in Greece, Italy or France. The project includes plans for hydrogen pipelines and undersea optical data cables, symbolising a futuristic leap in energy and digital connectivity.

Regional investment in infrastructure for the project has already started. Late last year, the UAE signed a US$ 2.3 billion railroad agreement with Jordan, while Riyadh is pumping in US$ 4 billion into its railway network.

The Future of Global Supply Chains

At the heart of India’s IMEC strategy is the creation of a cluster of “factory towns” — specially designed industrial zones that aim to become global manufacturing hubs. Modelled partly on successful East Asian manufacturing ecosystems, these zones will focus on high-tech industries, green energy components and value-added exports.

Officials confirmed that during his discussions in Riyadh, Prime Minister Modi emphasised the need for coordinated investment and policy alignment to fast-track these manufacturing clusters. “These towns will be the engines of job creation, export growth and technological innovation,” a top official from the Ministry of External Affairs said.

As part of the project, India is working on an undersea grid connectivity between India and Saudi Arabia that could see Riyadh building gas-based electricity plants, which could power India’s industrial needs.

US Support For The New Route

While the route was envisaged when Joe Biden was the US President, Donald Trump, who is known for his penchant for grandiose schemes, has also been quite enthusiastic about it, and has been quoted as stating it (IMEC) was a 'group of wonderful nations' banding together countering other countries that "look to hurt us on trade".

While speaking of the IMEC project, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also gone on record earlier this year, “I think there’s more big deals like that coming under President Trump.” 

The US is keen that the project which mostly passes through countries friendly with the US, comes up and becomes a rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a transcontinental infrastructure scheme that has raised concern in Washington about Beijing’s expanding influence.

“It is not in our interest to live in a world, particularly in a hemisphere we call home, surrounded by countries that have taken on loans and debt from China that put them at China’s mercy,” Rubio said.