Trieste, the Italian port city at the head of the Adriatic Sea, is a pivotal link in Europe’s commercial and economic outreach toward the Indo-Pacific region. Historically serving as the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s maritime gateway, Trieste’s proximity to major European cities like Vienna, Munich, and Milan, along with its access to Europe’s industrial heartland of northern Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and parts of Eastern Europe, positions it as Europe’s prime entrepôt for eastern trade.

This strategic significance makes the city essential to anchoring the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), unveiled at the 2023 G20 Summit in India. Already handling circa 70% percent of Turkish imports to Europe, Trieste could be as pivotal to Europe’s trade with the Indo-Pacific as Rotterdam is to the Atlantic, enhancing the interests of the US, Europe, and Indo-Pacific nations alike.