India, June 19 -- With the airspace closed over Iran and denied over Pakistan, the Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi last weekend flew southeast over Athens, crossed the Mediterranean to Cairo, turned east to fly across the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula to Oman and then over the sea to enter India in the Kutch region. Nearly 12,000 metres above sea level, it traced the path of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). I was returning from the inaugural edition of the Raisina Mediterranean Dialogue, where every session turned into a discussion on IMEC. The flight was evidence of both its existence and necessity.

Few positive ideas have energised the world in recent times as much as IMEC after it was unveiled in Sep...