Turkish president says Ankara is backing a rival scheme to connect the Gulf to Turkey through Iraq, called the Development Road Project
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pushed back against plans announced by the leaders of India, Saudi Arabia and the EU to create a trade corridor that would link South Asia to Europe and bypass Turkey.
“We say that there is no corridor without Turkey,” Erdogan told journalists accompanying him to a G20 summit in India on Sunday. “Turkey is an important production and trade base. The most convenient line for traffic from east to west has to pass through Turkey.”
The transport link, dubbed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, aims to establish railway lines and shipping that will pass through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, then reach to Greece and Europe.
A memorandum of understanding on the corridor was signed by the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US and other G20 partners.
One of the main objectives of the project is to cut shipping times by 40 percent and save money on other costs, and fuel use.
Source : Middle East Eye
