Overview

• Ricky Gill, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and NSC Senior Director for South and Central Asia, will arrive in New Delhi the week of August 4 to attend the IMEC summit.
• The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor summit is scheduled for August 5–6 with participants from Europe, the Middle East, India and the United States.
• IMEC aims to link India to European markets via the Gulf, cutting transit times by about 40% and reducing costs by roughly 30% compared with the Suez Canal route.
• Last week, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff plus an additional penalty on Indian goods, marking a sharp escalation in bilateral trade tensions.
• Diplomatic friction has intensified over India’s energy purchases from Russia, and security turmoil in West Asia has delayed efforts to operationalize the corridor.