I2U2 Group
 India, Israel, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. | |
| Abbreviation | I2U2 |
|---|---|
| Established | 2021 |
| Type | Inter-governmental economic cooperation forum |
Region | Middle East, West Asia, South Asia |
Members | States in the Dialogue: |
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]
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] Raja Mohan endorsed Soliman's Indo-Abrahamic concept and how the concept "can provide a huge fillip to India’s engagement with the extended neighbourhood to the west." [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] Soliman intended for his Indo-Abrahamic Alliance concept to transform West Asia's regional geopolitics and geo-economics and ultimately link the I2U2 Plus group with the Quad to shore up an overarching Asian order. [7]
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.[8] 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."[9]
I2U2 Plus
Egypt
Raja Mohan argued for the inclusion of Egypt in the Indo-Abrahamic framework because of its location "at the cusp of the Mediterranean - Europe, Africa, and Asia, Egypt is the center and heart of the Greater Middle East.”[10] Soliman concurred with Mohan on the strategic need to bring Egypt into the Indo-Abrahamic framework/I2U2 group because of Cairo's civilizational outlook, demographics, geography, economic and military power, and geopolitical aspiration. [11]
Saudi Arabia
Soliman argued that the inclusion of Saudi Arabia under the Indo-Abrahamic framework/I2U2 is "critical to the development of a West Asian system that ensures long-term peace and stability."[12]
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.
- ^ "A new overarching Asian order: With the Indo-Abrahamic bloc, the United States can pivot to East Asia without leaving a vacuum in West Asia; Hindustan Times". www.hindustantimes.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.
- ^ "Making a case for Indo-Abrahamic accord; The Indian Express". indianexpress.com. 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ "Egypt and India: Time to rebuild relations; The Middle East Institute". mei.edu. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ "India, Saudi Arabia, and the Indo-Abrahamic Plus; Observer Research Foundation". orfonline.org. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-17.