President Joe Biden and his aides on Saturday announced plans to build a rail and shipping corridor linking India to the Middle East and Europe, an ambitious project aimed at boosting economic growth and political cooperation.
“This is a big deal,” Biden said. “This is a really big deal.”
The corridor, outlined at the annual summit of the Group of 20 of the world’s top economies, will help boost trade, distribute energy resources and improve digital connectivity. This will include India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel and the European Union, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the network reflects Biden’s vision for “far-reaching investments” that come from “effective American leadership” and a willingness to embrace other countries as partners. He said improved infrastructure would boost economic growth, help bring countries in the Middle East closer together, and position the region as a hub of economic activity rather than a “source of challenge, conflict or crisis.” That has happened in recent history.
The announcement was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other leaders from around the world.
Speaking through a translator, Modi said, “Enhancing connectivity with all regions has been a key priority for India.” “We believe that connectivity is a means not only to enhance mutual trade between different countries but also to enhance mutual trust.”
Rail and shipping corridors will help connect a large part of the world together physically, improve digital connectivity and enable more trade between countries, including in energy products like hydrogen. Although White House officials have not set a timeline for its completion, the corridor will provide a physical and ideological alternative to China’s own nation-wide infrastructure program.
The White House did not provide any details on the cost or financing of the project, although Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman mentioned the $20 billion figure during the announcement. It was not clear whether that amount applied only to the Saudi commitment.
After the announcement, Biden greeted the crown prince with a hearty handshake, a friendlier exchange than when they last met a year ago in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the time, Biden, who has strongly criticized Prince Mohammed over the kingdom’s human rights record, awkwardly greeted him with a fist bump, drawing sharp criticism from rights activists.
Von der Leyen described the project as a “green and digital bridge between continents and civilizations”. He said it includes cables to transmit power and data.
He also announced a “Trans-African Corridor” linking the Angolan port of Lobito to land-locked areas of the continent: Kananga province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the copper-mining regions of Zambia.
Speaking about the African project, Biden called it a “game-changing regional investment” and said, “Both of these are huge steps forward.”
Amos Hochstein, Biden’s coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, set an estimated timeline for the project for the next year.
Over the next 60 days, the working group will create a comprehensive plan and set timelines. The first phase will involve identifying areas that require investment and where physical infrastructure can be linked between countries. Hochstein said plans could be implemented in the next year so the project can move forward on financing and establishing construction.
Sullivan said the project began to come together after Biden visited Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July 2022, where he stressed the need for greater regional economic integration.
In January, the White House began talks with regional partners about the concept. By spring, maps and written assessments of existing rail infrastructure in the Middle East were being drafted. Sullivan and senior White House aides Hochstein and Brett McGurk traveled to Saudi Arabia in May to meet with their Indian, Saudi and UAE counterparts.
All parties have been working since then to finalize the details of the agreement announced Saturday.
The parties also brought Israel and Jordan into the project. Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, although the White House is pressing them to normalize relations.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video statement calling the rail and shipping project a “breakthrough” that will transform the region. “This is a day of good news for all citizens of Israel, good news that leads us to a new era of regional integration and cooperation,” he said.
Sullivan said the transportation project is not seen as a “precursor” to a potential normalization deal, but he described Israel’s involvement as “significant.”
“Participants in this effort are focused on practical outcomes for their people,” Sullivan said. “And based on geography this kind of corridor works best by keeping Israel inside rather than outside and the participating countries have prioritized this.”
Biden participated in both sessions of the G20 on Saturday. He highlighted plans to push for greater investment to tackle climate change, such as its own domestic incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy. He also argued that Russia’s war in Ukraine is hurting many other countries, which have faced higher costs of food and energy as well as higher interest rates on their debt.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been a regular presence at international summits, including the G20 in Indonesia last year since Russia invaded his country more than 18 months ago, was not invited by the Modi government to this year’s gathering. I went.
Zelensky has used high-profile gatherings to argue for continued economic and military support for his country. India, one of America’s most prominent allies, has largely remained on the sidelines of the war, and has even dramatically increased its purchases of Russian oil.
White House principal deputy national security adviser John Finer said the administration pushed for Zelensky’s inclusion in the summit.
“Ultimately, it’s not our decision,” Finer said. “But you can expect that the United States and our other partners who are working so closely with Ukraine … we will make that case quite strongly in the context of these conversations.”
The summit communique, a joint statement agreed to by all participants, addressed the war, among other issues. It included language outlining the principle that states cannot use force to alter borders, rejected the use of nuclear weapons, and called for a just peace based on the principles of the United Nations Charter. The communiqué also underlined that attacks on civilian infrastructure must stop.
During the summit, Biden also discussed his request to Congress for additional funding for the World Bank, which could generate more than $25 billion in new loans for economic development.
More broadly, the White House is trying to strengthen the G20 as an international forum, while Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have decided not to attend.
Biden has said he is disappointed by Xi’s decision. Asked again about the Chinese leader’s absence, Biden said Saturday that the summit was “going well” although “it would be nice to have him here.”