Erdoğan not happy with India-Middle East-Europe Corridor

[Edevelop]

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pushed back against plans announced by the leaders of India, Saudi Arabia and the EU to create a trade corridor that would link South Asia to Europe and bypass Turkey.

“We say that there is no corridor without Turkey,” Erdogan told journalists accompanying him to a G20 summit in India on Sunday. “Turkey is an important production and trade base. The most convenient line for traffic from east to west has to pass through Turkey.”

The transport link, dubbed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, aims to establish railway lines and shipping that will pass through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, then reach to Greece and Europe.

A memorandum of understanding on the corridor was signed by the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US and other G20 partners.

One of the main objectives of the project is to cut shipping times by 40 percent and save money on other costs, and fuel use.

But the project, in its current form, bypasses Turkey.

Erdogan said he is aware that many countries are trying to expand their area of influence by creating trade corridors and Turkey backs the Iraq Development Road Project, which aims to connect the Gulf to Turkey and Europe through a railway and highway via ports in the UAE, Qatar and Iraq.

Erdogan said UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, in particular, "made a much more determined suggestion on this issue on Saturday".

But the project, in its current form, bypasses Turkey.

The development road project entails the creation of a dual-track railway spanning approximately 1,200 km and the construction of a modern highway running out of al-Faw, a port in southern Iraq's Basra governorate.

The Iraqi government envisions trains operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour facilitating the transportation of both passengers and goods.

Additionally, plans include the establishment of logistic hubs, industrial complexes and the potential integration of oil and gas pipelines.

This ambitious scheme is estimated to require an investment of around $17bn, with projected annual returns of $4bn and the creation of a minimum of 100,000 jobs.

'No corridor without Turkey': Erdogan opposes India-Middle East transport project

Turkish president says Ankara is backing a rival scheme to connect the Gulf to Turkey through Iraq, called the Development Road Project

www.middleeasteye.net

 

[Edevelop]

 

[Skull and Bones]

@MMM-E can Acinki drone be used to target all the train and ships passing through the corridor if they don’t have Erdogan’s permission?

 

[arjunk]

Instead of going through the suez canal this corridor will take days longer, be more expensive, and end up in a Chinese owned port anyway.

This is just a Saudi attempt to make global trade revovle around them and Pajeets going "Phul Sapport saar"

 

[epebble]

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pushed back against plans announced by the leaders of India, Saudi Arabia and the EU to create a trade corridor that would link South Asia to Europe and bypass Turkey.

“We say that there is no corridor without Turkey,” Erdogan told journalists accompanying him to a G20 summit in India on Sunday. “Turkey is an important production and trade base. The most convenient line for traffic from east to west has to pass through Turkey.”

The transport link, dubbed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, aims to establish railway lines and shipping that will pass through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, then reach to Greece and Europe.

A memorandum of understanding on the corridor was signed by the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US and other G20 partners.

One of the main objectives of the project is to cut shipping times by 40 percent and save money on other costs, and fuel use.

But the project, in its current form, bypasses Turkey.

Erdogan said he is aware that many countries are trying to expand their area of influence by creating trade corridors and Turkey backs the Iraq Development Road Project, which aims to connect the Gulf to Turkey and Europe through a railway and highway via ports in the UAE, Qatar and Iraq.

Erdogan said UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, in particular, "made a much more determined suggestion on this issue on Saturday".

But the project, in its current form, bypasses Turkey.

The development road project entails the creation of a dual-track railway spanning approximately 1,200 km and the construction of a modern highway running out of al-Faw, a port in southern Iraq's Basra governorate.

The Iraqi government envisions trains operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour facilitating the transportation of both passengers and goods.

Additionally, plans include the establishment of logistic hubs, industrial complexes and the potential integration of oil and gas pipelines.

This ambitious scheme is estimated to require an investment of around $17bn, with projected annual returns of $4bn and the creation of a minimum of 100,000 jobs.

'No corridor without Turkey': Erdogan opposes India-Middle East transport project

Turkish president says Ankara is backing a rival scheme to connect the Gulf to Turkey through Iraq, called the Development Road Project

www.middleeasteye.net

O Erdogan, so much angst over vaporware. BTW, how is the Orient Express doing?

 

[Abdul Rehman Majeed]

This new proposed trade route through KSA is a threat to both the Egyptian and Turkish routes.

Hence sworn enemies Egypt and Turkiye are burying hatchet to kill this route.

 

[maithil]

Too bad for him. His Iraq route is much more dangerous.

 

[merzifonlu]

It's an exaggerated claim. We easily adapt to the situation. Moreover, if the issue is large-volume trade, no land route can replace the sea route.

 

[Puffin]

Instead of going through the suez canal this corridor will take days longer, be more expensive, and end up in a Chinese owned port anyway.

This is just a Saudi attempt to make global trade revovle around them and Pajeets going "Phul Sapport saar"

OF course the people with the money US SAUDI UAE INDIA who carried out this study and settled on THIS ROUTE are all wrong . If only the poor fools would listen to an expert like yourself and save tens of billions in this more expensive route.

You must immediately write to MBS and Biden to inform them of your thoroughly researched findings and save these poor fools from wasting their money.

Do it today there isn't a moment to lose

Too bad for him. His Iraq route is much more dangerous.

And do not forget his country is nearly bankrupt , so talk is all he can manage while the others build

 

[TriptiD]

Instead of going through the suez canal this corridor will take days longer, be more expensive, and end up in a Chinese owned port anyway.

This is just a Saudi attempt to make global trade revovle around them and Pajeets going "Phul Sapport saar"

Lol, you couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Since when are trains slower than cargo ships, and do you know how many hours it takes to get through Suez ? Haifa port is owned by an Indian company and it will be linked to some port in Italy, which has pulled out of BRI.

 

[Edevelop]

Haifa port is owned by an Indian company and it will be linked to some port in Italy, which has pulled out of BRI.

Italy has not officially pulled out of BRI

No decision yet to quit BRI: Italy PM | India News - Times of India

India News: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking in New Delhi on Sunday following discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, indicated that Italy has n

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Italian PM Meloni, China's Li Qiang discuss closer ties at G20 summit

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with China's Premier Li Qiang and discussed deepening ties between the two countries on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday.

www.reuters.com

More to Italy-China partnership than Belt and Road, Meloni says

Prime minister says no decision yet on whether to leave Chinese initiative

asia.nikkei.com

And BTW Italy is not part of your corridor.

 

[TriptiD]

Italy has not officially pulled out of BRI

No decision yet to quit BRI: Italy PM | India News - Times of India

India News: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking in New Delhi on Sunday following discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, indicated that Italy has n

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Italian PM Meloni, China's Li Qiang discuss closer ties at G20 summit

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with China's Premier Li Qiang and discussed deepening ties between the two countries on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday.

www.reuters.com

More to Italy-China partnership than Belt and Road, Meloni says

Prime minister says no decision yet on whether to leave Chinese initiative

asia.nikkei.com

And BTW Italy is not part of your corridor.

Italy will not officially pull out. The original agreement with China was for 5 years. They will just not extend it.

The map you have posted is not an official one and is clearly wrong. The route shown doesn't touch any of the three biggest economys of Europe- Italy, France and Germany. All three signed the partnership agreement and Greece did not. It make sense that the primary European port will be in Italy and linked to EU's economic heartland. Greece is in the backwaters, even though it may be the closest to Haifa.

Actually your map doesn't touch any of the largest economies of Europe- Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland , Poland, Sweden, Belgium.

 

[A Voice of Reason]

Instead of going through the suez canal this corridor will take days longer, be more expensive,

Where is your source for this beyond your intuition? The working assumption for this trade route is that it will be 40% faster and 30% cheaper than sending Indian goods to Europe via the suez. This is why many of the countries involved are excited over the suggested plan. Apparently they did the maths.

See
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/a-corridor-of-immense-promise/article67296263.ece

This is due to, and I quote "The network will support the seamless movement of goods under a digital and single trade document, harmonised transport rules and will be far cheaper operationally than the Suez Canal route, considering its high charges for vessel towing, tug-boat services, pilotage, transit fee etc."

(I have BTW also seen the 40% faster figure in papers going all the way back to 2012.)

So it is probably best not to merely rely on one's intuition. Do you have a source that it will be longer and more expensive?

(EDIT: PS. I was wondering what the fees a freight ship would be charged to transit the Suez Canal. Apparently as of a year ago a large ship like the Ever Given that got stuck in the Canal would pay $484,000 in various fees (not including operational fees while it waits in line to transit and actually slowly transits). But that was a year ago, in 2023 Egypt raised prices by 10-15%.)

Egypt’s Suez Canal raises transit fees for ships by 15% in 2023 as inflation bites

RIYADH: Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority has increased transit fees for all types of ships by 15 percent starting January 2023 in order to deal with the impact of global inflation, the chairman said in a statement. Osama Rabie added that transit fees for both dry bulk vessels and cruise ships will...

www.arabnews.com

 

[Puffin]

With its five-year memorandum of understanding up for renewal in March 2024, Italy appears poised to withdraw from the BRI, a reflection of frustrations with the initiative's unmet promises and the country's strategic reassessment of China.

 

[kingQamaR]

Its not the first time Italy switched side, won’t be the last .. lol

This corridor simply is NOT going to work.
Shipping to Saudi Arabia, then loading cargo on trains, then off-loading in Israel, then loading it on ships again. Come on! Why not load it on ships once and take it through the Suez Canal? Lot easier and cheaper!!!!

INdia proposed it , Europe Indian corridor is a gimmick. Economically and physically this corridor is not viable.