_________________
23 July 2024 (Tuesday)
14:30-16:30 CET (Warsaw)
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
1a Warecka Street, Warsaw
Conference room, 1st floor
_________________
At the G20 Summit in New Delhi, several countries and international organisations, including the United States, EU, and India, announced the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) to connect India with Europe by a network of roads, railways, and pipelines. This initiative, in line with the EU strategy on connectivity with Asia, offers an opportunity to link the Indo-Pacific to Europe and bring prosperity and stability to critical regions. Yet, for the IMEC to make economic sense it needs to not end in Greece or Italy but through to the Nordic region and Western Europe via Central Europe. This opens room for cooperation with the Three Seas Initiative (TSI), a regional grouping of 14 countries that works towards connectivity in Central Europe. This discussion will serve as a platform for Indo-Pacific and European experts to examine the complementarities and synergies between IMEC and TSI. It will start with presentations of both initiatives followed by a discussion. It aims at working out ideas for closer cooperation between the EU and Central Europe on connectivity and strategic issues.
Programme
Opening Presentations:
- “The Strategic and Economic Viability of IMEC”, Swasti Rao, (MP-IDSA), Vasileios Syros (USI)
- “The Tree Seas Initiative’s Role as a Connectivity Partner—How Can TSI Help Make the Links?”, Małgorzata Samojedny, Opportunity Institute for Foreign Affairs
Discussants:
- Jagannath Panda, Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs (SCSA-IPA)
- Małgorzata Bonikowska, Centre for International Relations, Warsaw University
Q&A Moderator:
- Patryk Kugiel, PISM
