FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM is to play a key role in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, reports Chennai's BusinessLine.

CMA CGM made the statement after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with French President Emmanuel Macron to the group's headquarters in Marseille.

As part of his state visit to France, both leaders were welcomed by Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, at the Group's headquarters.

As part of his state visit to France, both leaders were welcomed by Rodolphe Saade, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group.

Discussions focused on the IMEC, which is a strategic trade route designed to enhance connectivity between India and Europe. The CMA CGM Group, as a French company and a global player in maritime, land, air, and logistics solutions, intends to actively contribute to this initiative, the statement said.

The IMEC project aims to enhance transit between Europe and India through integrated maritime and land infrastructure while also facilitating energy transport and telecommunications via a subsea cable. This strategic corridor will significantly boost trade between the European Union and the Middle East.

With a modern fleet adapted to alternative energy sources and key port hubs in India, the UAE, and the Mediterranean, CMA CGM will be a key contributor to the corridor's efficiency.

Additionally, a network of dry ports along the IMEC rail route - stretching from India through Saudi Arabia and the Middle East to Europe - will leverage the group's logistics expertise, reinforcing the economic and strategic vision of this alternative trade route.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25 in Parliament on February 1, 2024, said that the IMEC is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others.

Ms Sitharaman quoted the Prime Minister, saying that the corridor "will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come, and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil".

For the project, a MoU was signed by Saudi Arabia, European Union, India, the UAE, France, Germany, Italy and the US. It will include two separate corridors - the east corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf and the northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe.

It will also include railway projects to provide a reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement existing maritime and road transport routes enabling goods and services to transit between India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Europe.