Greece’s leading role in the India–Europe corridor

The India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (IMEC) is emerging arsenic a large inaugural for the improvement of alternate freight and vigor transport routes betwixt Asia and Europe.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions on traditional maritime trade routes, Greek ports are seeking to unafraid a relation successful the emerging commercialized architecture being shaped successful the Eastern Mediterranean, aiming to found themselves arsenic cardinal transshipment and logistics hubs for European and Balkan markets.

Statement by V. Kikilias

Speaking astatine the Mare MED III Conference Athens 2026, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vassilis Kikilias described Greece arsenic a “natural gateway” for the IMEC corridor into Europe, stressing that Athens is actively supporting the inaugural successful practice with Israel, Cyprus, and the United States.

“Greece is simply a earthy gateway for IMEC. This is simply a large strategic concern of tremendous significance,” helium said, adding that contempt geopolitical tensions and ongoing instability successful the Middle East, determination countries indispensable proceed to program with a semipermanent strategic horizon.

An alternate to the Suez Canal

The IMEC was described arsenic an perfect alternate to the pressures and geopolitical uncertainties affecting the Suez Canal by Pinhas Tsruya, CEO of Israel Ports Company (IPC).

He highlighted the request for alternate trade and vigor corridors amid expanding geopolitical strain connected traditional maritime routes. According to him, IMEC could germinate into a caller strategic freight axis linking India, the Middle East, and Europe via Israel and Greece.

Tsruya revealed that IPC has already conducted elaborate studies connected imaginable cargo volumes, including scenarios of astir 5 cardinal TEUs annually arsenic an alternate routing enactment to the Suez Canal.

In this context, helium added that IPC is assessing the aboriginal capableness of Israeli ports arsenic well arsenic the investments required to support accrued instrumentality and cargo throughput.

He noted that successful caller years Israel has made important investments successful upgrading its larboard infrastructure, including the improvement of two caller terminals successful Haifa, which person accrued capacity, competition, and work quality.

According to the company’s analysis, adjacent with further IMEC-related cargo volumes, Israeli ports person sufficient capableness done to 2042, provided that further improvement phases proceed arsenic planned.

He besides placed strong accent connected inland logistics, noting that owed to constricted available onshore astir ports, Israel is processing an “inland ports” model—internal logistics hubs connected to ports via obstruction and roadworthy networks.

Three large inland ports are planned to run arsenic extensions of seaports, accelerating instrumentality flows to and from Haifa and different regions of the country.

Regional positioning and Greece’s role

Within this framework, the larboard of Thessaloniki is gaining strategic value successful the caller trade architecture envisioned by IMEC, with Northern Greece positioning itself arsenic a cardinal transit gateway for flows towards the Balkans and Central Europe.

Piraeus – Thessaloniki

Both the larboard of Piraeus and the larboard of Thessaloniki are participating successful the Mare MED III Conference Athens 2026.

It is widely expected that the larboard of Piraeus will question to play an progressive relation successful serving some existing and emerging trade corridors betwixt Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

On his part, Nikolaos Fokas, Commercial Director of Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH), told Naftemporiki that Thessaloniki’s strategic determination and its quality to link straight with Israel successful under 48 hours make caller opportunities for trade and logistics flows successful the Eastern Mediterranean.

He added that, done a unified logistics gateway, the larboard of Thessaloniki could service markets of implicit 40 cardinal consumers successful the Balkans, stressing the request for further concern successful obstruction connections, multimodal transport, and logistics infrastructure, with the enlargement of Pier 6 being a captious project.

Fokas besides highlighted prospects for practice betwixt Thessaloniki and Israeli ports, noting that IMEC could make caller trade flows and a stronger transport web crossed the Eastern Mediterranean.