Tomorrow’s Global Superhighway
The India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), an ambitious project launched on Sept. 9, 2023 by the United States, the EU, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, and India, has kept a low profile during the Israel-Hamas war. But following the announcement of a ceasefire in January 2025, and amid the predictable chaos of US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, it has reemerged as a hot topic in diplomatic and commercial circles.
Italy recently signaled its commitment to the corridor by appointing Ambassador Francesco Talò as its first special envoy for IMEC. Talò is an accomplished diplomat who previously served as Italy’s ambassador to NATO and Israel, and as envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Prior to assuming his new position, Talò was a diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. His appointment sends a message that Italy appreciates the economic and geopolitical opportunities that the corridor offers.
Talò is in good company. In November 2023, President Emmanuel Macron appointed Gérard Mestrallet as France’s envoy for IMEC. As former Chairman and CEO of utility company Engie, Mestrallet brings decades of corporate experience to ongoing discussions of how to deepen Indian-European trade and where French companies can invest in IMEC’s development.
The corridor is also a US priority. In the increasingly divergent Venn diagram that is US politics, IMEC received support from both former President Joe Biden and Trump. During his February 2025 meeting with Indian President Narendra Modi, Trump affirmed the United States’ commitment to “help build one of the greatest trade routes in all of history”. Bipartisan commitment to IMEC is rooted in the common belief that the corridor is a potential competitor for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It would serve to secure East-West trade while reducing the US military presence, and would build on the Abraham Accords by further integrating the region’s economic and political future.
The Trump administration should therefore match Europe’s enthusiasm and appoint a special envoy for IMEC. Committing a senior official to IMEC would not only allow the United States to have a leading voice in the diplomatic process, but would enable it to connect US companies that seek to take part in the corridor’s development with member states that seek American investment. It would also make it possible for the United States to take an active role in developing IMEC’s future governing and regulatory structure, supporting the process of defining how a transcontinental, multi-modal corridor should securely operate.
This does not mean that US engagement on the corridor will be straightforward. The Trump administration appears to be damaging some of the same global value chains that IMEC is designed to enhance. However, appointing a special envoy would ensure that the lines of communication during a particularly disruptive period in global history remain open. If facilitated correctly, US support for IMEC will not only maintain a commitment to transatlantic and international dialogue, but will also contribute to creating a new global order built on economic interdependence and collective burden-sharing.