Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the first-ever I2U2 virtual summit along with US President Joe Biden, Israeli PM Yair Lapid, and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Speaking at the summit, PM Modi said, “From this very first summit, I2U2 has established a positive agenda. We have identified joint projects in various sectors and prepared a roadmap to go ahead.”
Under the I2U2 framework, we’ve agreed on increasing the joint investment in 6 important areas of water, energy, transport, space, health, and food security, he added.
PM Modi further stated that it is clear that the vision and agenda of I2U2 are progressive and practical.
“By mobilising our mutual strength, capital, expertise, and markets, we can speed up our agenda and make important contributions to the global economy. Amid increasing global uncertainty, our cooperative framework is also a good model for practical cooperation,” he said.
Volatile energy markets made worse by Russia: US Prez Biden
President Biden launched a scathing attack on Russia saying its brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine made the already volatile energy markets worse.
“The challenges we face today include accelerating climate crisis or growing food insecurity…volatile energy markets made worse by Russia’s brutal and unprovoked attack against Ukraine, he said.
“Right now there is a vacuum, over the next 3 years, this group is going to work to identify new infrastructure projects that we can invest in and develop together…We can do a great deal if we stick together,” the US President added.
Our goal to have private market as partner: Israeli PM
Speaking at the summit, Israeli PM Yair Lapid said that the goal of I2U2 is to have the private market as a partner. “Despite being four different countries…it’s clear that all of us want the same thing including infrastructure development, quality education for children… reducing the damage inflicted on the environment,” he said.
“The real solutions will only come through countries that know how to bring together resources. We want to change the world for the better,” the Israeli PM added.
I2U2 Summit – Joint statement
During the summit, the leaders discussed joint economic projects to bolster economic cooperation under the framework of the coalition. The grouping is known as ‘I2U2’ with “I” standing for India and Israel and “U” for the US and the UAE.
“On July 14, 2022, we, the Heads of Government of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States, convened for the first leaders’ meeting of the “I2U2” Group. 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,” said a joint statement released by the White House.
Today’s inaugural I2U2 meeting focused on the food security crisis and clean energy. The leaders discussed innovative ways to ensure longer-term, more diversified food production and food delivery systems that can better manage global food shocks.
According to the MEA, the I2U2 Grouping was conceptualised during the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the four countries held on October 18 last year. “Each country also has Sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation,” it said.
The I2U2 intends to mobilise private sector capital and expertise to help modernize the infrastructure, low carbon development pathways for our industries, improve public health, and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies.
