Advancing sustainable and efficient connectivity has become a strategic priority for governments seeking to strengthen economic integration, diversify trade routes and foster long-term prosperity across regions. In this context, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) has emerged as a promising initiative to enhance connectivity between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
This report presents OECD technical analyses drawing on evidence-based indicators and internationally comparable data, to inform policy discussions and decision making on the effective implementation and advancement of the IMEC initiative.
The OECD is grateful for the voluntary contribution provided by the government of France, which supported the preparation of this report, and has been subsequently complemented by contributions from the governments of Greece and Israel.
The OECD Directorate for Global Relations and Co-operation (GRC) prepared the report in co-operation with the Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD), the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), and the secretariat of the International Transport Forum (ITF), and benefitted from substantive inputs from the German Energy Agency (Dena) and the International Energy Agency.
The report was prepared, under the guidance of Karim Dahou, GRC Deputy Director, by Marie-Estelle Rey, Senior Advisor, South and Southeast Asia Division, GRC. Substantial contributions were provided by Dr Emrecan Erdoğan, external consultant; Mariarosa Lunati, Senior Advisor, Middle East and Africa Division, GRC; Eliska Hauferova, GRC Policy Analyst; Silvia Sorescu, Trade Policy Analyst; Alexia Gonzalez Fanfalone, Head of the Connectivity Services and Infrastructures Unit; Frédéric Bourassa, Statistician; and Diego Botero, ITF Data Officer.
The report was reviewed by Jose Miguel Bermunder Menendez, Policy Researcher, International Energy Agency; Seda Sevgi, Deputy Head of the OECD Istanbul Centre; Cengiz Arikan, Statistician, Istanbul Centre; and Robert Akam, Communication Advisor, GRC. Editing was provided by Sophie Elliott, Communications Officer, GRC.
While the terms of reference of the report were presented to the IMEC Steering Committee, this report does not necessarily reflect the views of countries involved in the IMEC initiative.