India-Middle East-Europe corridor game changer for us, says FM Sitharaman

(BusinessStandard) - Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim budget speech on Thursday said that the recently announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) would be a strategic and economic 'game changer' for India and reiterated PM Modi's statement that the corridor would become the basis of world trade for centuries.

"The recent India Middle East Europe economic corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others. In the words of the Prime Minister, the corridor and I quote, the corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil," the minister said.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, the Union Finance Minister in her budget speech said, "The vision for Viksit Bharat is that of prosperous Bharat in harmony with nature with modern infrastructure and providing opportunities for all citizens and all regions to reach their potential. With confidence arising from the strong and exemplary track record of performance and progress earning Sabka Vishwas, the next five years will be years of unprecedented development and a golden movement to realize the dream of developing India by 2047."

The Union Minister also underscored the success of India's G20 presidency and said that during the tough times engulfed by the COVID-19 pandemic, India navigated its way and addressed global problems.

"A new world order is emerging after the COVID pandemic. India assumed the G20 presidency during a very difficult time for the world. The global economy was going through high inflation, high interest rates, low growth, very high public debt, low trade growth, and climate change. The pandemic has led to a crisis of food, fertilizers, and finances for the world while India successfully navigated its way," she said.

"The country showed the way forward and built consensus on solutions for those global problems. The recent India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others," the FM added.