Italy launches Parliamentary group to boost India-Middle East-Europe corridor
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Italy launches Parliamentary group to boost India-Middle East-Europe corridor")
Italy launches Parliamentary group to boost India-Middle East-Europe corridor Photograph: (WION)
The Italian initiative follows a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at last week’s G20 Summit in South Africa, and comes ahead of Deputy Prime Minister Tajani’s second trade mission to India this year.
Italian lawmakers have formally inaugurated a cross-party Parliamentary Friendship Group dedicated to the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), that shows Italy’s determination to play a leading role in the ambitious trade and infrastructure project. The new intergroup was launched in the Italian Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the Italian Parliament) under the chairmanship of Paolo Formentini, Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Antonio Giordano who servesin the Chamber.
More than forty parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have already joined.
Italy was among the founding signatories of IMEC when the memorandum of understanding was signed on the margins of the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi.
The corridor aims to create rail, shipping, energy and digital links connecting India with the Gulf states and Europe, offering a shorter and potentially more secure alternative to routes dominated by China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Speaking at the inauguration, Senator Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata, President of the Senate’s EU Affairs Committee and a former Foreign Minister, described the new body as an important "instrument for strengthening" ties between Rome and New Delhi.
Also Read - Over 1,500 homes destroyed, thousands left homeless as Bangladesh slum fire rages for 16 hours
He said it “reaffirms the centrality of parliamentary diplomacy” in advancing major international initiatives.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
Terzi linked IMEC to the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s vision of the “confluence of the two seas”, the Indian and Pacific Oceans, adding that the corridor is now “materialising” and is complemented by the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy and Italy’s own Mattei Plan for cooperation with Africa and the Mediterranean. Another key politician, Deborah Bergamini highlighted Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani’s personal commitment, noting his forthcoming visit to India in December and a major IMEC-related conference planned for the northern port city of Trieste in spring 2026.
“IMEC represents a decisive step in strengthening the Mediterranean’s role in global routes and offers a competitive alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative,” Formentini and Giordano said in a joint statement.
They expressed hope that parliaments in other countries would establish similar groups. The launch event was attended by ambassadors from India, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, Germany, France, the United States and Jordan. Cyprus, which takes over the rotating EU Presidency next month, pledged to give the corridor additional prominence during its six-month term.
Cross-party support was evident. Senator Tiziana Rojc of the centre-left Democratic Party and Senator Marco Dreosto of the right-wing Lega both emphasised Trieste’s strategic position and its rail connections to twelve EU countries, arguing that the city should become IMEC’s principal European gateway.
The Italian initiative follows a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at last week’s G20 Summit in South Africa, and comes ahead of Deputy Prime Minister Tajani’s second trade mission to India this year.
