Coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf region, India and the United Arab Emirates have signed a pact to develop the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor despite repeated Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Israel and Hamas were triggered to quickly go into operation.

The IMEC issue, announced at the G-20 summit in New Delhi last September, came up during Modi's talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra said on Wednesday.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which will connect India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Europe, is seen as a crucial alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). ), a cross-border infrastructure project.

The Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on Cooperation to Strengthen and Operate the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will promote regional connectivity, Kwatra said while briefing reporters on Modi's visit to the UAE.

“One of the objectives is to see how quickly the IMEC becomes operational and benefits the core objective of stronger, deeper and more comprehensive regional connectivity between the parties involved,” he said.

Kwatra said the ongoing unrest in the region due to the conflict in Gaza and the situation in the Red Sea was a cause for concern.

“Both countries and leaders continue to monitor, monitor and share notes on it. But it is equally important to ensure that economic cooperation, which can be pursued and advanced, remains on track and maintains momentum,” said the Foreign Minister.

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Kwatra said the key areas of the IMEC agreement concern collaboration on logistics platforms, which is a crucial element in furthering the objectives of this particular quality in the provision of supply chain services.

“Our supply chain services are not limited to just one or two things, but cover all types of general cargo, bulk containers and liquid bulk cargo,” he said.

In another development, the UAE Ministry of Investment and India's Ministry of Electronics and Technology (MEITY) have signed an MoU to collaborate on digital infrastructure projects.

“This is a framework agreement focused on investment cooperation in the area of ​​digital infrastructures. As a consequence, the focus is on developing skills and sharing technical knowledge, advice, skills and expertise in this specific setting.

“Government agencies and regulators will also seek to forge partnerships under this special MoU on digital infrastructure,” he added.

Speaking about the India-UAE bilateral investment treaty, Kwatra said the agreement will lay the foundation for stronger, broader and far-reaching investment partnerships as it does not just focus on protecting existing investments.

Apart from the pact to quickly operationalize key IMECs, India and the UAE signed several bilateral agreements during Prime Minister Modi's visit to the Gulf region.

After attending the high-voltage 'Ahlan Modi' event on Tuesday, which saw massive participation from the Indian diaspora, he will inaugurate the largest Hindu stone temple at Abu Dabhi on Wednesday.

Modi attended the World Governments Summit in Dubai and will travel to Doha after the temple event to meet leaders in Qatar as part of his two-day visit to the Gulf region, his seventh since 2015.

(This report was published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. No modifications have been made to the copy by ABP Live other than the headline.)