G20 summit: EU and USA start ship and train project with partners

The European Union, the USA and other partners have launched a huge rail and shipping project. It is intended to better connect Europe, the Middle East and India, as those involved announced on Saturday at the G20 summit in New Delhi. “This is nothing other than historic,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She spoke of the most direct connection to date between India, the Persian Gulf and Europe – with a rail connection that would speed up trade between India and Europe by 40 percent. The project is also seen as a response to China’s “New Silk Road” initiative.

US President Joe Biden also called the project “historic”. It opens up endless new possibilities. The United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union have therefore agreed on a corresponding declaration of intent. The news portal “Axios” had previously reported that it was one of Washington’s “most important initiatives” aimed at curbing China’s influence in the Middle East.

With the “New Silk Road”, China is supporting infrastructure projects worldwide and wants to open up new trade routes to Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. It has concluded numerous agreements with almost all Arab states.

Project aims to improve the integration of the Middle East

The project is intended to promote growth in several critical regions of the world, said Biden advisor Jake Sullivan. It will also improve integration across the Middle East – involving “some unlikely partners” in the region. India should also be connected to Europe in a way that not only enables “more efficient transport of goods” but also strengthens cooperation in the areas of energy and digital. “We believe the project is bold and transformative,” Sullivan said. He assumes that it will find imitators worldwide.

The project is to be financed, among other things, through the EU Global Gateway initiative. It plans to invest up to 300 billion euros in the infrastructure of emerging and developing countries over the next few years. The project competes with China’s “New Silk Road”, which the People’s Republic has been working on in many countries for years. For example, projects for energy production with climate-neutral hydrogen in Africa and a new underwater cable connection for data transport between the EU and Latin America are already planned.

Part of the now announced project also includes the expansion of power grids and energy projects. High-speed data cables are also part of the plan. According to the information, trade in clean energy between Asia, the Middle East and Europe will also be strengthened with power cables and a pipeline for clean hydrogen. According to the White House, pipelines being laid from Israel to Europe will deliver clean hydrogen to Europe.

Israel part of the initiative

The fact that Israel is part of the initiative is interesting. Recently there had been reports of movement in a possible rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, Biden adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized that this is not a precursor to normalizing the relationship between the two countries. But it is “significant that Israel is part of this vision.”

The G7 group of leading democratic industrialized countries launched a global infrastructure initiative a good two years ago to compete with China. The project goes back to Biden’s initiative and is considered the framework for the new project that has now been announced. The goal is to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars for infrastructure investments. Investments should also be made in new railway lines in Africa.