The first virtual summit of leaders of the United States (U.S.), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, and India was held on 14 July,2022. This meeting was known as I2U2 and was a continuation of talks between foreign ministers of the member countries that was held in October 2021. At that time, it was referred to as International forum for Economic Cooperation. After the first I2U2 summit, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
stated that the agenda and vision of I2U2 is both progressive and practical. While
commenting, Israeli PM Yair Lapid called this new group as a correct model.
The main driving force that led to the formation of the new Quad is the Abraham Accords. Israel and the Arab States were arch-rivals but after the historic Abraham Accords, the politics of the Middle East have greatly transformed. The I2U2 is also stated as the initiative of Israel to enhance its relations with the UAE by entering into a formal agreement.
In the first virtual summit, leaders of four states agreed to cooperate in the six key sectors including food security, water, health, energy, transport and space. After the meeting, UAE agreed to invest $2 billion in India to build food parks. Basically, this summit is part of a “hedging strategy” by four countries to prepare for a future where no one is certain.
These four partner states are determined to invest in the energy sector mainly in renewable energy. The U.S. and UAE will be the investors in a new grouping that is primarily focused on the economy while Israel will provide technology and India will be the ground for installing the technology and investment.
India’s primary concern is economic and has a free trade agreement with UAE. They both have bilateral trade of more than 59 billion USD. New Delhi and Tel Aviv are in talks to conclude a free trade agreement, which will further boost the trade among the members of the new Quad.
For India, it is a win-win situation, as it will draw investment, which will further boost its
industrialization. Furthermore, this new grouping is the symbol of the growing significance of India in world affairs.
For Israel and the UAE, it will be difficult to manage the future trajectory of relations between their economic partner China and to remain a security ally of the U.S. Washington has sent a message to China and Iran that it is not going anywhere and is determined to counter their influence in the region.
The Middle East has again become prominent in world affairs especially after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has revealed the world’s dependence on oil and gas. The I2U2 is mainly an economic partnership but the U.S. will work through its allies including India to counter the influence of China, Iran, and Russia.
Thus, while national security issues are often intractable, the strength of this grouping is not in trying to pursue a collective security agenda. Each of the countries will continue to pursue its security goals individually or in other formations, but I2U2 is likely to remain successful only if it is a harbinger for the present and future in the economic development domain and not a prisoner of the past in the security sphere.
