India-Middle East- Europe economic corridor to be more significant than Silk Route, says Saudi minister

New Delhi, Sep 12

The newly-announced India-Middle East- Europe economic corridor will have greater significance than the erstwhile Silk Route and even the Spice Route, Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih said on Monday.

"People talk about the Silk Route and the Spice Route of India through the Arabian Peninsula, however the economic corridor will be historical," the minister said while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Saudi-India Investment Forum.

Emphasising the significance of the newly-announced corridor, he said that it is going to be about new energy, data, connectivity, human resources, aviation routes and also about aligning countries that are of the same mind and same vision.

"Both Saudi Arabia and India have great human capital and access to financial resources. The next step is to make sure that the private sector fully understands what we have right before them, in terms of opportunities... we need to clear the roadmap for them and I think great things will happen," Al-Falih added.

The rail and shipping corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII), which is a collaborative effort by the G7 nations to fund infrastructure projects in developing nations. It is being considered as the bloc’s effort to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.