The I2U2 Group is a grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The group's first joint statement, released on July 14, 2022, states that the countries aim to cooperate on "joint investments and new initiatives in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security."[1]
| Abbreviation | I2U2 |
|---|---|
| Established | 2022 |
| Type | Inter-governmental economic cooperation forum |
Region | West Asia, South Asia |
Members | States in the Dialogue: |
Background
Mohammed Soliman, a foreign policy thinker and grand strategist, advocated for the idea of a broader Indo-Abrahamic strategic alliance that includes India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States and would expand in the future to include Egypt and Saudi Arabia in order to create a favorable balance of power that maintains peace and security in West Asia. [2] Soliman's Indo-Abrahamic concept was endorsed by Raja Mohan, who wrote that it “underlines the extraordinary churn in the geopolitics of the Middle East.”[3] Soliman's strategic concept of the "Indo-Abrahamic alliance" laid the framework for the I2U2 group. [4] India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States held their first joint meeting virtually in October 2021. At the time, the grouping of the four countries was compared to The Quad. [5] The inclusion of the UAE and Israel in a cooperative agreement of this kind was made possible by the Abraham Accords brokered in August 2020, which normalized relations between the two countries. [6]
History
The group held its inaugural summit on July 14, 2022, in which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan participated.[7] As an outcome of the summit, the leaders announced that the UAE will invest $2 billion "to develop a series of integrated food parks across India," while the group also agreed to proceed with "a hybrid renewable energy project in India's Gujarat State consisting of 300 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar capacity complemented by a battery energy storage system."[8]
References
- ^ House, The White (July 14, 2022). "Joint Statement of the Leaders of India, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and the United States (I2U2)". The White House.
- ^ "An Indo-Abrahamic alliance on the rise: How India, Israel, and the UAE are creating a new transregional order; The Middle East Institute". www.mei.edu. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ "Making a case for Indo-Abrahamic accord; The Indian Express". indianexpress.com. 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ "Premium Conversations: Decoding the politics of I2U2 with Mohammed Soliman; The Hindustan Times". www.hindustantimes.com/. 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ "India and the new 'Quad' in West Asia; The Indian Express". www.indianexpress.com/. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ "UAE, US, Israel and India meet to boost four-way co-operation;The National". www.thenationalnews.com. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ Bhattacherjee, Kallol (July 14, 2022). "India to give land for I2U2-backed food parks". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ "India, Israel, UAE, US hold first 'I2U2' meeting". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.