No India-Middle East trade corridor without Turkey: Erdogan on new transport link
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said there could be no proposed India-Middle East trade corridor without Turkey.
“We say that there is no corridor without Turkey. Turkey is an important production and trade base. The most convenient line for traffic from the east to west has to pass through Turkey,” Erdogan told a press team that accompanied him for the G20 summit in India. Turkey is already backing another proposed corridor through Middle East. This will connect the Gulf to Turkey and Europe through a rail line and highway via ports in the UAE, Qatar and Iraq. It envisages a 1,200-km dual-track with trains running at 300 kmph and a modern highway from al-Faw, an Iraqi port. India, Saudi Arabia and EU have announced a trade corridor linking South Asia to Europe through rail lines and shipping channels via UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 9 announced the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe mega economic corridor during G20 summit. The project includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
India-Middle East- Europe economic corridor will be more significant than the silk and spice routes of the world, Saudi’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih has said.
“The economic corridor will be historical. People talk about the Silk route, the Spice route of India through the Arabian Peninsula, but this is going to be more significant and relevant. Because it’s going to be about new energy, data, connectivity, human resources, aviation routes and it’s about aligning countries that are of the same mind and same vision,” Al-Falih added. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Saudi-India Investment Forum to reporters in New Delhi.
“Both countries (Saudi Arabia and India) have great human capital and access to financial resources. The next step is to make sure that the private sector fully understands what we have right before them, in terms of opportunities… we need to clear the roadmap for them and I think great things will happen,” Al-Falih added.
The rail and shipping corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII) — a collaborative effort by G7 nations to fund infrastructure projects in developing nations. PGII is considered to be the bloc’s counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The project will aim to enable greater trade among the involved countries, including energy products.
The corridor will include a rail link as well as an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline and a high-speed data cable, according to a document prepared by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The declaration document also called the project “a green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations.”
“Today we all have reached an important and historic partnership. In the coming times, it will be a major medium of economic integration between India, West Asia and Europe,” PM Modi said while announcing the project. The corridor will give a new direction to connectivity and sustainable development of the entire world, he added.
Finance Minister Dar said the Gulf nation has confirmed its commitment to the International Monetary Fund, paving way for the staff-level agreement to unlock a $1.1 billion loan by the global lender.
UAE approves additional $1 billion funding to Pakistan: Finance Minister Ishaq Dhar
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dhar on April 4 announced that the UAE has approved $1 billion in financial support, taking the cash-strapped nation a step closer to unlocking the crucial IMF bailout.
Pakistan is tackling a major economic crisis as it awaits a much-needed $1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019.
Finance Minister Dar said the Gulf nation has confirmed its commitment to the International Monetary Fund, paving way for the staff-level agreement to unlock a $1.1 billion loan by the global lender.
“UAE authorities have confirmed to IMF for their bilateral support of $1 billion to Pakistan,” Mr. Dar said in a tweet, adding that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was now “engaged for needful documentation for taking the said deposit from UAE authorities”.
The UAE rolled over its deposits of $2 billion in January this year too, providing critical support to cash-starved Pakistan’s depleting foreign exchange reserves.
In another tweet, Mr. Dar announced that the apex bank is getting the third and last disbursement from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), worth $300 million, out of its $1.3 billion loan.
“Out of Chinese bank’s ICBC approved facility of $1.3bn (which was earlier repaid by Pakistan), State Bank of Pakistan would receive back third and last disbursement today in its account amounting to $300mn,” the Finance Minister tweeted.
The ICBC approved a rollover of a $1.3 billion loan for Pakistan on March 3 and made the first payment of $500 million on the same day, while the second payment of the same amount was made on March 17.
The IMF lowered its forecast for Pakistan’s economic growth rate days ago from 2% to just 0.5% for the current fiscal year amid high inflation and a growing unemployment rate in the cash-strapped country.
The new development brought debt-struck Pakistan closer to signing the staff-level agreement with the IMF and getting access to multilateral loans.
