Why in the News?
- This commitment was reaffirmed during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani held in April 2025.
- The discussions prominently focused on advancing ties under the Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) 2025–2029, which serves as a structured roadmap to diversify bilateral cooperation.
- The JSAP was jointly announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during their meeting in November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro.
About the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC)
- IMEEC is a multimodal connectivity initiative aiming to improve infrastructure for trade and transport between India, the Middle East, and Europe.
- It was officially launched through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by India, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the US during the G20 Summit in New Delhi (2023).
- IMEEC is a part of the broader Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), which was initially announced at the G7 Summit 2021 in the UK.
- It is widely regarded as a strategic counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- Structure of IMEEC: IMEEC will comprise two main corridors:
- Eastern Corridor: Connecting India to the Gulf region.
- Northern Corridor: Connecting the Gulf to Europe.
