IMEC: THE BACKBONE OF AN INDO-MEDITERRANEAN REGION
ITALY AND THE FUTURE OF TRANSCONTINENTAL CONNECTIVITY
In an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience, diversifying supply chains and securing alternative corridors have become more urgent than ever. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced at the G20 Summit in 2023, is among the most ambitious of these initiatives. By linking India, the Gulf and Europe through an integrated network of maritime, rail, digital and energy infrastructure, the corridor could reshape connectivity across an emerging Indo-Mediterranean region.
This new ISPI Report analyses IMEC’s strategic implications across transportation, energy and digital connectivity, while examining Italy’s potential role as a central Mediterranean gateway connecting Indo-Mediterranean flows to European markets.
Can IMEC become the backbone of a new Indo-Mediterranean connectivity space? And how can Italy position itself at the heart of this emerging transcontinental architecture?
Report edited by Filippo Fasulo, Nicola Missaglia, Valeria Talbot (ISPI)
This Report is published with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and will be presented by ISPI at the IMEC Forum hosted by the Ministry in Trieste, Italy, on 17 March, 2026.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC): Redefining the Indo-Mediterranean Connectivity, Filippo Fasulo, Nicola Missaglia, Valeria Talbot (ISPI)
1.1 IMEC Participants: Interests and Challenges
1.2 IMEC in Practice: What European Port Gateways? A Comparative Framework through a SWOT Analysis
by RINA Consulting
IMEC: The Quest for Redundancy, Angela Stefania Bergantino (ISPI and University of Bari), Giovanni Maria Della Gatta (ISPI), Roberto Italia (ISPI)
2.1 IMEC: A Convergence of Interests, Visions and Projects
2.2 Extra-EU Trade: A Shifting Landscape
2.3 Intra-EU Trade: A Strengthening Network
IMEC: A Multiplier of Energy Connectivity, Massimo Lombardini, Alberto Prina Cerai (ISPI)
3.1 The IMEC Energy Potential
3.2 A Superhighway for Electrons? The Potential for Grid Interconnections
3.3 The Potential for Natural Gas Connectivity: Pipelines versus LNG Terminals
Box 1 – Energy Infrastructure in the Mediterranean: The Role of Edison
by Edison
3.4. From Corridor to Production Network? Hydrogen Connectivity within IMEC
IMEC: Bridging Continents Through Digital Connectivity, Antonio Deruda, Ludovica Favarotto, Claudia Schettini (ISPI)
4.1 Wiring the Corridor: IMEC’s Digital Component
4.2 The European Dimension
4.3 The Italian Dimension
Box 2 – The Role of Sparkle’s Submarine Cable Infrastructures, Gabriella Improta, Fabio Paolo Panunzi Capuano (Sparkle)
Complementarity Among Eurasian Trade Corridors, Leonardo Del Piccolo (ISPI)
5.1 Three Corridors, One Vision for Eurasian Connectivity
5.2 Complementarity: A Three-Dimensional Assessment
The IMEC in the Context of EU Aims and Policies, Stefano Riela (ISPI and Bocconi University)
Conclusions
ISPI – Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale
