NEW DELHI, India – A rail and ports deal linking the Middle East and South Asia was announced Saturday at the G20 Summit meeting in New Delhi. The United States, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, United Arab Emirates and other G20 partners agreed to explore a shipping corridor project to augment trade flows between Europe and India, National News online reported.
The corridor would link Middle East countries by railroad and connect them to India by port, helping the flow of energy and trade from the Gulf to Europe, and helping cut shipping times, costs and fuel use.
The corridor is meant to counter China’s vast investment in global infrastructure, aiming to increase rail-bound trade between India and Europe by up to 40%.
In the next 60 days, working groups will put together a fuller plan and set timelines. The first phase will involve identifying areas that need investment and where physical infrastructure can be connected between countries. Plans can be put into place over the next year so that the project can progress to financing and construction, Network News reported.
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