Ahmedabad, Feb 18 (IANS) Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) and the Port of Marseille Fos, France’s leading port and the Mediterranean’s premier gateway, on Wednesday announced a collaboration to deepen cooperation on trade facilitation, port innovation, and energy transition and further boost India-Europe trade connectivity.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) proposes the creation of an IMEC Ports Club to strengthen coordination among key ports along the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) route, reinforcing connectivity between India and the European Union.
Launched at the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi, the IMEC is a 6,000-km multimodal connectivity initiative linking India and Europe through integrated maritime routes, rail networks, digital systems and clean-energy pathways.
“India has already taken a leadership role in advancing this corridor, and with the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, trade between the participating countries is expected to grow manifold,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ.
“Our ports in Hazira and Mundra on India’s western coast have already established a seamless pathway across the first and middle legs of the corridor,” he informed,
“With this MoU with the Port of Marseille Fos in France, we have now successfully connected the final leg to Europe. This partnership will significantly accelerate the exchange of information and materials among all participating nations, further strengthening economic cooperation and supply-chain resilience,” said Gupta.
This completes the IMEC pathway for India-EU trade, which has been boosted by the FTA between India and the EU, termed as ‘the mother of all deals’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The MoU was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit, underscoring the expanding India-France strategic partnership.
“We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with APSEZ at a moment when the IMEC corridor is entering a decisive phase. India and Marseille stand at the two extremities of this future trade backbone, giving both ports a major responsibility in structuring and energising this new route,” said Herve Martel, CEO of the Port of Marseille Fos.
Together, we intend to mobilise and federate the ports involved, and act as strong advocates of a more efficient, resilient and sustainable connection between our regions, Martel added.
–IANS
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