The Israel-Gaza conflict is a “worrying manifestation” of geopolitical challenges for the US-backed multinational economic corridor, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.

According to Reuters, in September, global leaders announced a rail and ports deal linking the Middle East and South Asia, as the US seeks to counter China’s Belt and Road push on global infrastructure with a new economic corridor.

The proposed corridor will pass through Israel, which has been engaged in a fierce conflict with Hamas in the Gaza strip, in retaliation for the militants’ cross-border assault into Israel on Oct. 7.

“It (the corridor) is not without its geopolitical challenges and the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza is a worrying manifestation of these,” Sitharaman said during a conference.