The heads of the United States, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates convened Thursday for the inaugural meeting of the I2U2 group of countries.
The summit was hosted by President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and attended virtually by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan. The leaders discussed the food security crisis and clean energy and reaffirmed their support for the Trump-era Abraham Accords, according to a joint statement.
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“This unique grouping of countries aims to harness the vibrancy of our societies and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle some of the greatest challenges confronting our world, with a particular focus on joint investments and new initiatives in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security,” the leaders said.
The leaders added that they welcome the economic opportunities that stem from “historic” peace and normalization agreements, such as the Abraham Accords, which advanced economic cooperation in the Middle East and South Asia.
Bilateral relations between Israel and the UAE normalized in August 2020 when the two nations, as well as Sudan, Morocco, and Bahrain, agreed to the Abraham Accords. The landmark peace agreement was negotiated by Trump administration official Jared Kushner.
The summit concluded with several initiatives related to food security and clean energy being promised.
The UAE pledged to invest $2 billion to develop a series of “food parks” across India with “climate-smart technologies” that will reduce food waste and spoilage, conserve fresh water, and employ renewable energy sources.
India agreed to provide land to facilitate the developments and integrate local farmers into the food parks, which will be open to U.S. and Israeli private-sector companies as well.
The leaders said these investments “will help maximize crop yields and, in turn, help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.”
The I2U2 group also agreed to advance a wind and solar energy plant with battery energy storage system in India’s Gujarat state. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency previously funded a feasibility study for the $330 million project, which seeks to integrate UAE-based companies and private-sector companies from Israel, the U.S., and India.
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The leaders said projects such as the hybrid renewable energy plant in Gujarat “have the potential to make India a global hub for alternate supply chains in the renewable energy sector.”
The I2U2 leaders also welcomed India’s interest in joining the three other nations in the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate initiative, or AIM for Climate, and said these initial projects are “the first steps in a long-term strategic partnership to promote initiatives and investments that improve the movement of people and goods across hemispheres, and increase sustainability and resilience through collaborative science and technology partnerships.”
