According to the State Department, diplomats from the I2U2 group, which includes India, Israel, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), met here to discuss economic cooperation and review projects.
India’s External Affairs Secretary for Economic Relations Dammu Ravi, US Under Secretary of State Jose Fernandez, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Alon Ushpiz, and UAE Minister of State Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh attended the meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
According to the State Department, the participants expressed their countries’ “commitment to deepening the economic partnership among the four countries.”
The I2U2, which takes its sci-fi-sounding name from the initials of its four member countries, is an innovative group that seeks to leverage their shared expertise and capacities for mutual benefit as well as to assist other countries.
The I2U2 Middle East group, which formed in October of last year, is similar to the older, more established Quad group of India, Japan, Australia, and the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to the State Department, the four diplomats “took stock of current projects in agriculture and clean energy and reviewed potential projects to help further the group’s objectives.”
“The group looks forward to building on the success of the Leaders’ Summit in July,” it added.
During his July visit to Israel, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a virtual summit with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.
Source:OCN