<p data-path-to-node="2"><b data-path-to-node="2" data-index-in-node="0">NEW DELHI / MUMBAI</b> — Senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways convened for high-level inter-agency review sessions today to accelerate infrastructural and digital integration for the eastern leg of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).</p><p data-path-to-node="3" id="p-rc_11e45a0692e3395c-203">The strategic discussions centered on harmonizing cross-border digital customs data platforms and standardizing intermodal container tracking between India’s critical western gateway ports—including Nhava Sheva (JNPA) and Mundra—and primary Arabian Gulf transshipment hubs. <span class="citation-373 citation-end-373">Trade planners and policy experts emphasized that optimizing this multimodal maritime-rail bridge will streamline export-import (EXIM) cargo flows and reduce total transit cycles to Southern and Western European markets by nearly 40% compared to traditional circumnavigations around the Cape of Good Hope.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c1500922118=""><sup _ngcontent-ng-c1500922118="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="1"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c3991888348=""></sources-carousel-inline></p>