Memorandum of Understanding on the Principles of an India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/09/memorandum-of-understanding-on-the-principles-of-an-india-middle-east-europe-economic-corridor/
"I'm happy to ibtroduce to you my belt and road initiative for US citizens: Tighten your belt and hit the road, jack"
I’m tired of all this malarkey about inflation back in my day we’d grab our shine box and go make a nickel
Well hell back in my day we would just load up the wagon and head west for 40 acres and a mule
40 acres and a mule
That hit hard given I was watching a Reconstruction documentary yesterday — the U.S. really should have followed through on that promise to formerly enslaved people
The whitehouse.gov press release says:
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two separate corridors, the east corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf, and the northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe.
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railway network ship-to-rail transit between India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe
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electric cables, data cables, hydrogen pipeline along the railways
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Participants are Saudi Arabia, the EU, India, UAE, France, Germany, Italy, and the USA
electric cables
hydrogen pipeline
Seems like a bad idea hoss, but what do I know?
This benefits the US as they can make countries dependent on the pipeline and then blow it up and accuse Russia
Centralizing all of that along the same ROW sounds... dangerous? Bad for defence?
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Proudly building trains using
expendableChinese labor since the Transcontinental Railroad
The one time I caught NPR on the radio it announced this. The contrast between the reporter's breathless admiration for Biden's bold leadership immediately followed by Biden muttering "It's a big deal..." had me rolling.
I swear there must be a pull cord on his back. Just few canned phrases on repeat that could be applied anywhere. Saw “dog-faced pony soldier” made a comeback today.
I thought it was weaksauce the way Biden had to say "It's a big deal" – that should speak for itself.
Or you should find a better way to say it: biggest infrastructure project since the Marshall Plan, will increase world GDP by 3%, something something
Who's funding it? The EU is in crisis, the US never funds infrastructure properly, and Saudi Arabia/India are more interested in coupling with each other via BRICS+ than with anyone else.
Can't wait for the West to fund a Saudi-India trade terminal and then run out of money.
Perhaps the bet is on India clashing with China over various bs and wanting to have its own trade corridor?
How does that even help India? India is only in this project from a single shipping link - not exactly tightly coupled to this trade corridor.
Plus, the logistics of loading/unloading mean that trade is going to flow through the Suez anyway.
How does that even help India? India is only in this project from a single shipping link - not exactly tightly coupled to this trade corridor.
Plus, the logistics of loading/unloading mean that trade is going to flow through the Suez anyway.
it's not done to help india; it's done to force india closer into the american & european sphere of influence so that india will be less able to ignore the usa or western europe demands; like the russian sanctions; and it also guarantees that both russia and china will stay as weak as possible by cutting them out of future business plans.
this whole thing is very cynically smart; i didn't know any better i would a have guess a lawyer came up with it.
Anyone remember global gateway? the European plan to 'combat' china? Yet I hear absolutely nothing from it anymore, and that's europe, the place libs love to praise the amazing infrastructure. Imagine a country like America doing a BRI project lmao.
They'll probably pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to pay someone to build a bridge, then they'll give up halfway through, give 90% of the money to the board, then ask for more
Even if Biden made a good faith attempt at a BRI like initiative to develop other countries infrastructure, no sovereign nation in their right mind would take it. Americans cannot plan that far in advance to build their own infrastructure. 2 years after USBRI gets passed into law, the budget for it would get cut in negotiations with the new Congress. 2 years later it would get more budget cuts or get scrapped completely by a new president. Our system does not have the capability to do any sort of long term projects with any efficiency.
Americans announce this shit all the time. Nobody's taking it serious at all, it's all just cheap words.
Two data points for your convenience:
Obama announcing a "new silk road" in 2011 to help distribute the Afghanistan problem onto its neighbors. Nothing came out of it.
Biden announcing Build Back Better Worldwide to compete with Belt & Road or something. Ask yourself - have you heard anything from that, ever?
All the West can do is talk shit, do nothing and bomb poor peasants. When China visits, we get a hospital...
I can't find a budget for this 'India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor' anywhere. Tens of billions? A trillion? Seems they're not saying.
Biden this the 7th time you've announced your own Belt and Road in class!
