ITJ 39-40/2023
Dear readers,
Allow me to put it this way. It only took the Western community of states a decade to react to the New Silk Road developed by the People’s Republic of China from 2013 onwards. Instead of one, there will now apparently be two intercontinental trade, transport and infrastructure networks.
This is because the United States of America, the European Union and other partners have now presented their plans to connect the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and India through a new rail and shipping project, as was announced at the recent G20 summit in New Delhi (India). There’s talk that a sum of EUR 300 billion will be invested, including money from the EU’s ‘Global Gateway Initiative’. The logistics objective is to speed up by as much as 40% the transport of goods between Indian and European destinations, amongst others.
Large-scale projects such as this are in short supply in tough times like these, so we should hold back any premature criticism. Since China has already occupied a number of positions in Asian, Arab and African countries, India, as well as parts of the Middle East, are coming to the fore as ‘natural partners’ of the West. One thing is already certain, however, and a signal for our industry – logistics is a global asset on the world stage.
Enjoy your read!
Christian Doepgen
Editor-in-chief