US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly comes 20 days after he praised a media report about Syria emerging as a corridor to evacuate oil and gas from the Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Even though many western think-tankers saw Syria as an alternative to IMEC, the latter is clearly a more viable proposition as it links the oil suppliers (Gulf) to refineries (India) and consumers (Indian subcontinent and Europe). This apart, stability of the Syrian regime is also remains a big question mark despite support from the Trump administration. Even though the Trump administration is overtly quiet, it is deeply concerned over what is now known as the Mecca defence pact. It is for President Trump to bring Saudi on board IMEC, or else American clout in West Asia will take a hit at a time China is still not in a position to act as a security guarantor of the perpetually boiling region.
However, the key to IMEC becoming a reality is Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, with President Trump offering a civil nuclear deal to Riyadh and selling USD 24 billion worth of F-35 fighters to the Kingdom in return. Fact is that Saudi Arabia was perhaps on the verge of joining the Abraham Accords when the Iran-backed Hamas scuttled the entire IMEC by orchestrating the October 7, 2023 terror strikes in Israel. Today, IMEC faces another challenge as Saudi Arabia has joined hands with Turkey and Pakistan in a defence pact; Ankara and Islamabad are both opposed to Israel.
