The “new Quad” meet: Outcomes of India, Israel, US and UAE virtual meet
- In Foreign Policy
- 08:06 PM, Oct 19, 2021
- Myind Staff
A possible “new Quad” meeting was held among the foreign ministers of India, Israel, the UAE and the US on Monday between four nations with well backed economy to discuss on various aspects of issues and cooperation that can increase trade, enhance cooperation in maritime security, global public health, joint infrastructure projects in transportation and technology. Among all these, support for public health due to COVID-19 pandemic was also discussed in the meeting.
The meeting, took place virtually and “decided to establish an international forum for economic cooperation" with the four ministers in next meeting that will be soon held probably next month according to some Israeli readouts.
For this meeting, Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar and Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid joined the talks from Israel whereas the UAE foreign minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and US secretary of state Antony Blinken joined from their respective capitals.
“During the meeting, the four ministers held a discussion on possibilities for joint infrastructure projects in the fields of transportation, technology, maritime security, and economics and trade, as well as for additional joint projects," the Israeli statement said.
Each country will appoint senior professionals to a joint working group that will formulate options for cooperation, the Israeli statement added.
Israeli foreign minister Lapid introduced the idea of such a “quadrilateral" meeting as the four countries had a “unique set of capabilities, knowledge, and experience that can be used to create the network that we all want to see created".
“I think the word we’re looking for here is synergy, because this is what we’re going to try and create starting with this meeting. Synergy that will help us work together on infrastructure, digital infrastructure, transport, maritime security and other things that preoccupy us all," Lapid said according to the Israeli statement.
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that the four countries “discussed expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and increasing maritime security".
Blinken “reiterated the Biden Administration’s support for the Abraham Accords and normalization agreements and discussed future opportunities for collaboration in the region and globally", Price said.
“Discussed working together more closely on economic growth and global issues. Agreed on expeditious follow-up," Jaishankar said in a Twitter post after the talks.
Blinken in his Twitter post said that the meeting had focused on “shared issues of concern in the region and globally, and the importance of expanding our economic and political collaboration".
The meeting comes amid the ongoing talks on the Abraham Accords. A statement issued by Israeli embassy in New Delhi said the Abraham Accords agreement between Israel and the UAE had “paved the way for friendships and business partnerships across the region”.
The statement added, “India being a friend of both the UAE and Israel is clearly the preferred partner to leverage the global potential of the UAE, Israel and India trilateral.”
India while supporting the Abraham Accords said that they, “has always supported peace and stability in West Asia which is our extended neighbourhood. As such we welcome these agreements for normalization of relations between Israel and UAE and Bahrain."
However, Israel, India and UAE have already established trilateral cooperation in trade and investment. In May, India, Israel and the UAE their partnership gains more strength when an Israeli company was to produce robotic solar cleaning technology in India for a project in the UAE.
And these new four nations meeting gives India a hope of flexibility to engage more freely with Israel and other partners in the Gulf region. If we talk about defense trade between the two countries then Israel emerges as a key security partner since the trade is valued at about $1 billion annually. Whereas the UAE remains an important and strategic partner for India when it comes to tackle the Pakistan.
Image Source: UNI
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. MyIndMakers is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of MyindMakers and it does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Comments