I'm John Batchett with Natalie Waba and Natalie Icaro and Mariam Waba, and we turn our attention to an organization

that may be in the headlines soon enough, because it doesn't now yet entirely exist.

The acronym is I-M-E-C, but in that might be the answer to the present crisis over the Strait of

our moves. Natalie, I start with you to define the I-M-E-C, which translates into the India-M-L-E-E-Rough

Project. What the heck is it? Yeah, so I-M MEC, the India, Middle East, Europe Economic Corridor,

is this project that was launched a couple years ago to basically connect those three

regions slash country to enhance trade, enhance energy, enhance logistics.

And it's, there's progress is being made on the project.

However, it isn't fully complete.

The vision isn't complete yet.

And as I mentioned a second ago, energy is a huge pillar of this vision,

this project, this initiative, whatever you want to call it. And energy is one of the pillars

that hasn't really been fully realized yet. And I think what we're seeing happen in energy markets

over the war with Iran and the way that Iran is able to use the

Strait of Hormuz, which is basically the only way to export oil and gas out of the region,

Iran is using that waterway as a source of leverage. If the energy vision of this economic project was seen to fruition, we would

very likely see a pipeline run from Saudi Arabia through Israel to the Mediterranean and then

onward to European markets, whereby gas and oil could be exported from the Gulf to Europe,

bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and decreasing Iran's ability to use that waterway against Israel,

against America, against our allies.

It's a utopian idea, then, to build a pipeline that crosses all those sovereignties,

given the tension.

...