NEW DELHI — Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for an economic corridor project connecting India with the Middle East and Europe. The project aims to enhance economic connectivity, develop and upgrade infrastructure, and boost trade between the involved parties. Speaking at the occasion of the launch of the corridor on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Delhi on Saturday, the Crown Prince said: "I am pleased today that we are gathered in this friendly country to sign an MoU for an economic corridor project connecting India with the Middle East and Europe." "This project is the culmination of our joint efforts over the past few months. "It is built on principles that serve the common interests of our countries by enhancing economic connectivity and positively impacting our partners in other countries and the global economy as a whole." He added: "This project will contribute to the development and upgrading of infrastructure, including railways, port connections, and increased flow of goods and services, thus enhancing trade between the parties involved. "It will also extend pipelines for the export and import of electricity and hydrogen to enhance global energy supply security, in addition to high-efficiency, reliable cross-border data transmission cables." The Crown Prince highlighted that the MoU also supports clean energy development efforts and will create new, high-quality employment opportunities along the corridors for all parties. "To achieve what we have agreed upon in this memorandum, it requires the continuation of our collective efforts and the immediate commencement of developing the necessary mechanisms for its implementation within the agreed-upon timeframe," he said. He also expressed profound gratitude to all those who worked together to take these foundational steps towards establishing this significant economic corridor. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe connectivity corridor, which is the first of its kind initiative on cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, EU, France, Italy, Germany, and the US. The governments of Saudi Arabia and US announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries on Friday. The bilateral MoU provides a framework for developing a protocol for establishing intercontinental green transit corridors through the Kingdom to connect the continent of Asia with the continent of Europe. This project aims to facilitate the transit of renewable electricity and clean hydrogen via transmission cables and pipelines as well as constructing rail linkages. It is also intended to enhance energy security, support efforts for the development of clean energy, promote digital economy through digital connectivity and transmission of data via fiber cables, and promote trade and transport of goods by rail and through ports. Saudi Arabia welcomed the role of the US to facilitate and support the negotiation, establishment, and implementation of the green corridors transit protocol with the relevant countries.
