India-Middle East Corridor; Turkey On Trade Route Options | Will build second trade route with Iraq, Qatar and UAE; Rs 14 lakh crore will be spent

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the G20 Summit held in New Delhi on September 9-10.

Angered by not being included in the India-Middle East Corridor, Turkey is looking for an alternative to this international trade route. Turkey may announce a new trade route to counter the corridor. According to the report of Financial Times, Turkey has talked to Iraq, Qatar and UAE regarding this.

The Turkiye corridor will be named Iraq Development Road Initiative. Through this corridor, goods can be easily transported from Grand Fo Port in Iraq to Turkey. Rs 14 lakh crore is likely to be spent on this. This will be a 1200 kilometer long trade route. The target has been set to complete its first phase by 2028.

The picture is of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al Sudani (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (file)

Experts warned Turkey
On one hand Turkey is planning to prepare this project, on the other hand experts are warning about it. Emre Peker, director of the Eurasia Group think-tank, says Turkiye lacks the money to realize the project.

It seems that it is relying on UAE and Qatar for infrastructure. To get money from Gulf countries, Turkey will have to convince them that they will get good returns by investing in this route.

According to Pekar, there are also security and stability issues that could jeopardize Turkey’s project. Iraq is plagued by rampant corruption, deteriorating infrastructure, weak government, and regular political instability. It is also not clear how Iraq will invest money in this project.

Iraq is a part of the Middle East that is surrounded by violence and instability. Basra, where this project is being dreamed of, was once the stronghold of ISIS. The influence of ISIS can still be seen on the youth here. In such a situation, the future of the project that Erdogan is thinking about may also be dangerous.

President Erdogan said – we cannot go from East to West without us
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed his objection on the India-Middle East Corridor and said that no corridor can be built without him. He had said that any traffic going from east to west would have to pass through Turkiye.

In fact, the project announced at the G20 Summit will pass through a total of 8 countries including India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, America, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union. Israel and Jordan will also benefit from this project. However, Turkey and Egypt have not been included in this project.

This map of India-Middle East Europe Corridor was released in the G20 Summit held in India.

The corridor will start from Mumbai and reach Europe.
This new corridor starting from Mumbai will be an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This corridor will be 6 thousand km long. This includes 3500 km sea route.

After the construction of the corridor, about 40% time will be saved in transporting goods from India to Europe. Currently, it takes 36 days for any cargo from India to reach Germany by shipping, this route will save 14 days. With direct access to Europe, import-export will be easier and cheaper for India.

The corridor deal was announced by PM Modi in G20. During this, Biden is on Modi’s right side, while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on his left side.

Seven reasons why India joined this project