Saudi Arabia explores IMEC route through Syria, sidestepping Israel, sources tell 'Post'

Saudi Arabia is exploring a significant shift in the proposed India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), seeking to sideline Israel from the trade initiative by rerouting the corridor through Syria instead, according to two sources familiar with the discussions who spoke to The Jerusalem Post.

The IMEC, unveiled by then-US president Joe Biden during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, was conceived as a transformative infrastructure and trade project linking India with Europe through the Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The initiative envisioned a network of railways, ports, and shipping lanes connecting India to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece, providing a faster alternative to traditional maritime routes while strengthening economic integration across the region.

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From its inception, Israel's role in IMEC was viewed as inseparable from a broader US-backed effort to broker normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Under the original blueprint, freight would travel by rail from Saudi Arabia through Jordan into Israel before being shipped to European markets via the Port of Haifa, positioning Israel as a critical logistical gateway between Asia and Europe.