NEW DELHI, Feb 18: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s Port of Marseille Fos to deepen cooperation on trade facilitation, port innovation and energy transition, strengthening connectivity along the India—Middle East—Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The initial pact proposes the creation of an IMEC Ports Club to enhance coordination among key ports along the IMEC route and reinforce connectivity between India and the European Union. The development completes the IMEC pathway for India-EU trade, boosted by the Free Trade Agreement between India and the EU, termed “the mother of all deals” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The MoU was signed during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, aligning the expanding India-France strategic partnership with the broader IMEC and India-EU trade vision, APSEZ said in a statement.
Launched at the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi, IMEC is a 6,000-km multimodal connectivity initiative linking India and Europe through integrated maritime routes, rail networks, digital systems and clean energy pathways.
On IMEC’s eastern gateway, APSEZ’s ports at Mundra and Hazira serve as a multimodal logistics hub connecting South Asia to West Asia. Marseille Fos will strengthen the corridor’s western European gateway, adding about 70 million tonne of capacity and extending IMEC’s reach deeper into Europe.
Marseille Fos is among Europe’s largest integrated multimodal port ecosystems. The partnership aims to establish a structured pathway to facilitate India-EU trade flows.
The collaboration will focus on promoting the IMEC route as a sustainable, secure and competitive alternative for Eurasian trade through joint campaigns, trade fairs, roadshows and B2B engagements. It will also focus on technical exchange and capacity building in port digitalisation, smart port platforms, data interoperability, cybersecurity, alternative fuels, shore power supply and low-carbon bunkering.
It will develop the Mundra-Marseille Fos Green Maritime Corridor and co-found the IMEC Ports Club to institutionalise dialogue among corridor ports and coordinate policy and investment inputs.
“India has already taken a leadership role in advancing this corridor, and with the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, trade between the participating countries is expected to grow manifold,” said Ashwani Gupta, CEO, APSEZ.
“At APSEZ, our ports in Hazira and Mundra on India’s western coast have already established a seamless pathway across the first and middle legs of the corridor. With this MoU with the Port of Marseille Fos in France, we have now successfully connected the final leg to Europe.”
This partnership will significantly accelerate the exchange of information and materials among all participating nations, further strengthening economic cooperation and supply-chain resilience, he said.
Herve Martel, CEO of the Port of Marseille Fos, added: “India and Marseille stand at the two extremities of this future trade backbone, giving both ports a major responsibility in structuring and energizing this new route. Together, we intend to mobilize and federate the ports involved, and to act as strong advocates of a more efficient, resilient and sustainable connection between our regions.” (PTI)
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