President von der Leyen marks the EU's commitment to the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) during the event hosted at the G20 in New Delhi

President von der Leyen spoke today at the G20 event on PGII hosted by Prime Minister Modi and President Biden.

She emphasised the EU's key contribution to two new flagship PGII projects:

• The India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor, launched during the event. An agreement formalising this project was signed by the EU, the United States, India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Corridor will link the three regions through state-of-the-art connectivity infrastructure, helping to bring the economic relationship between them to a new level and providing improved access to goods, energy and data to citizens and businesses. In particular, the project will:
  • Integrate railway lines and port connections from India to Europe, across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, leading to smoother and faster transit of goods;
  • Develop energy infrastructure and enable the production and transport of green hydrogen to all partners;
  • Strengthen telecommunications and data transfers thanks to a new undersea cable connecting the region.
• The Trans-African Corridor will enhance the transport connections between the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the so-called “Copper Belt” in Zambia, to Lobito port in Angola. The Corridor will help foster investment in local value chains to transform the extracted raw materials, access to world markets for the products from these regions, and greater mobility opportunities for citizens. The EU is joining forces with the US to promote this Corridor (see separate joint statement by the EU and the US).

Background

Both projects are a tangible illustration of the EU's deep commitment to enhancing critical infrastructure across the globe. They are a further step in the PGII process launched last year by President von der Leyen, President Biden and the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo during the G20 summit in Bali.

The EU is a key actor in PGII through its flagship Global Gateway programme. Global Gateway will activate 300 billion of investments in critical connectivity projects during the period 2021-2027, half of which is destined for Africa.

Over 90 projects have been identified in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, and in the Western Balkans.

For more information on Europe's flagship Global Gateway Initiative, visit our website.