"New Economic Corridor" competes with "Silk Road"

About two months before the Hamas operation, the “New Economic Corridor” project, which links South Asia and Europe and passes through the Arabian Gulf and Israel, was announced on the sidelines of the G-20 summit held in the Indian city of New Delhi (September 9, 2023), through a memorandum of understanding agreed upon. It has leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who announced the project.

In this regard, the writer and economist, Ahmed Balad, considered that land and railway projects are strategic projects, especially since China also has plans in this regard, in order to strengthen its relations with Europe and Africa.

And if we want to focus on the point of view the Turkish occupation state, this project excluded Turkey, which was most affected by this project. This was demonstrated by the Turkish occupying state's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attacking this project and the countries participating in it, and saying: "There will be no corridor without Turkey, and the most suitable line for traffic from east to west is the line crossing from Turkey."

The writer explains the Turkish refusal by saying that the “New Economic Corridor” project was competing with the “Iraq Development Road” project, which aims to connect the Gulf with Turkey and Europe via a railway and a highway through ports in the Emirates, Qatar and Iraq.

Balda believes that the goal of the “Iraq Development Road” project, which passes from Basra to Turkey, via Mosul and Kirkuk, was to separate southern and western Kurdistan, as well as to strengthen Turkey’s direct relations with Arab countries through this project.

T/ Satt.

ANHA