In Person event
What is happening in the Middle East is a direct test to the EU’s Global Gateway, and to what Commission President von der Leyen has called ‘the most ambitious project of our generation’: the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Ahead of the 2025 Global Gateway Forum (9-10 October), CEPS and EcoPeace Middle East are organising a long-anticipated dialogue on IMEC’s future in the Mediterranean.
Announced at the September 2023 G20 summit in New Delhi, IMEC blurs the lines between EU neighbourhood and global strategies, while involving powerful partners that have their own agendas, such as the US and India.
For IMEC’s European signatories, the quest for economic security is made more complex by one of their core responsibilities in the eastern Mediterranean – pursuing a just peace process, consistent with international law. These two aspirations are ultimately connected, yet they have evolved on separate tracks in the past two years. While the regional peacebuilding landscape and global discourse have changed irreversibly, preparations for IMEC have continued with little adjustment.
Now is the time to broaden IMEC’s intended impact by making it an opportunity for regional security, and by encouraging geopolitical and climate objectives. With a more inclusive design, could IMEC advance Israeli/Palestinian and broader Middle East peace – and how? Answering this question will determine whether IMEC can help enable European competitiveness and supply chain resilience. After an interactive presentation of EcoPeace’s IMEC Peace Triangle, a strategy that has gained diplomatic endorsement and proven economic feasibility, the event will feature a panel discussion to explore how the Global Gateway can lead the way in combining visions for peace, development and connectivity in the eastern Mediterranean.
Sessions:
1) Presentation: Introducing the IMEC Peace Triangle
An EcoPeace strategy for Middle East peace, shared prosperity and inclusive resilience
2) Discussion panel:
Global Gateway in the eastern Mediterranean: charting the right course?
