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India’s trade route to Europe could soon become nearly 40 per cent faster if the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (IMEEC) reaches full operational capacity, according to Rear Admiral (Prof) Shaul Chorev (Retd) of the Israeli Navy. Speaking at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2025, Chorev said the emerging network linking Indian ports to Israel’s Haifa through the Arabian Peninsula could “redefine maritime connectivity between Asia and Europe.”

The figures presented by Rear Admiral Chorev (Retd) showed that the new corridor, integrating sea routes, rail lines, and digital infrastructure, would shorten the current shipping distance via the Suez Canal route of 11,600 kilometres to an interlinked rail–sea route of 2,915 kilometres between Fujairah Port in the UAE and Haifa Port in Israel. The corridor’s high-speed goods trains, expected to operate at 120 kilometres per hour, could reduce transit times “by nearly 40 per cent” compared with existing maritime routes.

For India, the project represents a rare opportunity to anchor itself at the centre of Eurasian trade without depending on the Suez chokepoint. Chorev’s presentation listed Mundra, Kandla, and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust among the key Indian nodes that could link to Gulf ports such as Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, as well as Dammam and Ras Al Khair in Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli speaker underlined that Haifa Port, now partly operated by the Adani Group, will play a critical role as the Mediterranean gateway. “Both Haifa and Mundra are privately controlled by Adani,” Chorev said, describing it as a unique bridge between the Indian and European markets.

The corridor’s design — combining port logistics, rail freight, and undersea data cables — fits neatly with India’s longer-term ambitions under the Sagarmala and Maritime India Vision 2030 programmes, which emphasise port-led growth and export competitiveness.

The IMEEC’s potential extends beyond freight efficiency. Chorev said the route would also host shared renewable electricity grids and hydrogen pipelines, enabling cleaner energy transport across the Gulf and Mediterranean. With about 10 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity already under development in India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, the corridor could become a prototype for “green connectivity” linking South Asia’s renewable hubs to European markets.

Such diversification would also shield Indian exporters from the frequent disruptions of the Suez Canal, where traffic bottlenecks or security incidents have repeatedly inflated costs. “IMEEC provides a possible alternative route that might drastically reduce transit times,” one of Chorev’s slides noted.

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India’s state-owned RITES will develop middleware software named MAITRI, envisioned as the digital backbone of the corridor. The system will enable secure trade data sharing between ports in India, the Gulf, and Israel, supporting what Chorev described as a “Virtual Trade Corridor.”

MAITRI could improve customs transparency and cargo tracking, reducing delays that have historically plagued cross-border logistics in the region.

Chorev framed the IMEEC as both an economic and geopolitical initiative. In his words, it is “a cooperative regional capacity-building platform” that integrates not just ports and rails, but also political interests of countries including India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

If implemented as planned, the corridor could cement India’s role as a maritime hinge between Asia, the Gulf, and Europe, aligning its trade infrastructure with partners whose combined economies represent a major share of global energy and logistics networks.