Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating in the first Leaders' Summit of the new I2U2 grouping of India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States scheduled to be held virtually on Thursday.
Along with PM Modi, US President Joe Biden, Israel PM Yair Lapid and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will also be participating in the meeting.
The I2U2 Grouping was conceptualized during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held on October 18. It is is aimed to encourage joint investments in six mutually identified areas such as water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security. It also intends to mobilize private sector capital and expertise to help modernize the infrastructure, low carbon development pathways for industries, improve public health, and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies.
Each country also has Sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation.
Also Read: India, US, Israel and UAE join hands to tackle rising tide of radicalisation
"The top leaders will discuss the possible joint projects within the framework of I2U2 as well as the other common areas of mutual interest to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in our respective regions and beyond.These projects can serve as a model for economic cooperation and offer opportunities for our businesspersons and workers," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement today.
Last month, Washington said that the I2U2 heads of state would hold discussions on the food security crisis and other areas of cooperation across hemispheres.
"The President looks forward to this unique engagement with Prime Minister Bennett of Israel, with Prime Minister Modi of India, and President Mohammed bin Zayed of the UAE," a senior Biden administration official had said in June.
As reported by IndiaNarrative.com last October, the new grouping indicates the link-up of important US partners in the region to solve problems together and contain the surge of extremism across the region more effectively – from Turkey to Afghanistan.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Lapid, who was then the Israeli Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister, had met virtually to discuss "shared issues of concern" in the region and globally.
The meeting, which was even described as a precursor to the possible future formation of a Quad 2.0 alliance, took place during Jaishankar's visit to Jerusalem. Both Jaishankar and Lapid had sat down together during their video interaction with their US and UAE counterparts to discuss future opportunities for collaboration across the region and beyond.
Also Read: Meet Mohammed Soliman– the grand strategist behind the West -Asia Quad concept
