India-Middle East-Europe corridor to revive spice route

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Indian spices and spice products are likely to be the first commercial products to find their way through the new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec), an Indian minister has said.

Imec, announced last month at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, aims to integrate railway routes and link ports along a route from India to Europe, through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.

Taking the first steps to promote the corridor, India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said the corridor is similar to the historic “spice route”, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported.

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“So, we should be looking up to this new initiative as an appropriate opportunity to celebrate the flavours of India and the versatility of the country in the regions covered by the corridor. Let Indian spices capture world markets,” he told the World Spice Congress in Navi Mumbai, India.

The minister urged the 35 million-strong people of Indian origin residing across the world, including the GCC, to be brand ambassadors “to encourage increased consumption of spices across the world”.

The cross-border ship-to-rail transit corridors will reduce shipping costs across the network and facilitate trade in goods and services to, from, and between the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Europe, UAE state-run news agency Wam reported.

The initiative will focus on advancing energy infrastructure, helping with the production and transportation of environmentally-friendly green hydrogen to all participating nations.