G20 Summit: US, India, UAE, Saudi to finalise Middle-East shipping, railway deal
Joe Biden and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi are expected to announce the project as a part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment. The project, which is in line with president Biden's middle east strategy, will enhance connectivity, de-escalate conflict, and provide a counter for China's 'Belt and Road' initiative. This project, which will push commerce, energy trade, digital connectivity, high standards, will be executed in a transparent, non-coercive and sustainable way, Finer added.
“National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval on May 7 in Saudi Arabia to advance their shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region interconnected with India and the world," reads a release from the White House regarding the meeting in May. News outlet Axios reported that the idea for this project came up during discussions part of the I2U2 forum, which includes India, Israel, the United States and the UAE. While Israel is not yet part of the project, it may play a role if its normalisation process with Saudi Arabia goes through, reported Axios.
US Deputy NSA Finer pointed out that the United States did not see the proposed projects as a part of a competition with China. “We do not see it as zero sum with other approaches to infrastructure. We are not asking countries to make this zero sum choice.
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