Global Gateway Forum: Towards an EU–Africa–India Digital Corridor
At the Global Gateway Forum held in Brussels on 10 October, the European Commission and key partners from Africa, India and the Mediterranean region discussed the EU–Africa–India Digital Corridor initiative, which aims to establish a reliable, secure and high-capacity data connection between the continents.
The project represents a concrete implementation of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced in 2023 during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, and is designed to strengthen international cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, security and, in particular, digital transformation.
At the heart of the EU–Africa–India Digital Corridor lies the Blue Raman submarine cable system, which will extend ultra-high-speed connectivity along a route of over 11,000 km, linking Europe, East Africa, the Middle East and India. This marks a significant step forward in the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, which seeks to bridge the global digital divide and enhance cooperation in research, innovation and education.
The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, highlighted how this initiative promotes “closer collaboration in research, innovation and education, enabling communities to fully participate in the digital economy and helping to build resilient and diversified infrastructure for sustainable development.”
The Forum also celebrated several important milestones. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Sparkle, the project’s promoter, formalised their cooperation, while senior representatives from Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania expressed their support for extending the cable system to their respective countries.
A particularly significant moment was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the European research network GÉANT, India’s national research network NKN, and Africa’s UbuntuNet Alliance. The agreement strengthens collaboration among the research and education communities of the three continents and will provide high-performance connectivity to support shared scientific and educational projects.
The EU–Africa–India Digital Corridor embodies the Team Europe approach, which brings together EU Member States, development finance institutions and the private sector, with the active participation of Italy, France and Finland. This initiative represents a key step towards building a secure, sustainable global digital infrastructure that serves knowledge and cooperation.
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