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Gerard Mestrallet, French President Macron's Special Envoy for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), undertook a visit to Gujarat, on September 16-17 to better understand India's infrastructures and development strategy, in particular the port of Mundra as the IMEEC project will connect ports in India, the Middle East and Europe, an official release said.
During his visit, Mestrallet, accompanied by his diplomatic advisor, military advisor, and Jean-Marc Sere-Charlet, Consul General of France in Mumbai, went to the Mundra port as it is one of the main points of this corridor, and met economic actors involved in this project. They visited the terminals and renewables energies facilities recently built in Mundra, the statement added. India and France, being at the entry and end points of this transnational rail and shipping route, have a shared interest and responsibility to develop this project to enhance trade accessibility and economic cooperation, the statement said. As per the statement, France is the first signatory country of the project to have officially appointed a dedicated special envoy. Mestrallet undertook his first official trip, in this capacity, as part of the official visit of President Emmanuel Macron for India's 75th Republic Day in January 2024 as chief guest. On this occasion, IMEEC was identified as a strategic area of cooperation between France and India. During his second visit, Mestrallet highlighted that the "existing direct shipping line between Mundra and Marseille is an asset which displays competitive time for export and import flows". The delegation also underlined the strategic role that some major French and European companies could play in the project - for instance, CMA-CGM, headquartered in Marseille and with an important footprint in Mumbai, is already operating one terminal in Mundra and has boosted sea-connectivity across India. Speaking on the project, special Envoy Gerard Mestrallet said, "IMEEC will allow to substantially step up our cooperation in key focus areas such as low carbon energies, digital data and port-to-port partnerships". As IMEEC also has a European dimension, this project could become a flagship project of the EU's "Global Gateway" connectivity strategy, per the statement. In the coming months, France will actively work with Indian government officials and companies to find a common ground to facilitate the IMEEC pre-project phase. The special Envoy will return to India for a series of official meetings in New Delhi in November to demonstrate France's strong commitment to this initiative. (ANI)
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