In what some experts are calling the new Quad of Middle East, the first meeting of the foreign ministers of India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to establish an international forum for economic cooperation and discussed joint infrastructure projects in transportation and technology.
The meeting was held to expand economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia and to enhance maritime security.
From India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid from Jerusalem, US secretary of state Antony Blinken from Washington and UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi took part in this important meeting.
In a tweet, Jaishankar described the discussions as “fruitful” and said foreign ministers Yair Lapid, Antony Blinken, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had agreed on a speedy follow-up. The Israeli foreign ministry said the four ministers intended to hold an in-person meeting at Expo 2020 in Dubai in the coming months.
“Discussed working together more closely on economic growth and global issues. Agreed on expeditious follow-up,” Jaishankar said.
Blinken tweeted and said that in his meeting with the Indian, Israeli and the UAE foreign ministers was focused on “shared issues of concern in the region and globally, and the importance of expanding our economic and political collaboration”.
Lapid, who initiated the process for the meeting during a recent visit to Washington, said at the start of the meeting: “Around this virtual table – there is a unique set of capabilities, knowledge, and experience that can be used to create the network that we all want to see created.”
Going forward if these four countries work more closely it will help them work developing on infrastructure, transport, maritime security, and other issues, he said.
The key to success is moving from a “government-to-government” approach to a “business-to-business” approach and turning the initiative into a “working process that will put boots on the ground, changing infrastructure around the world”, Lapid added.
Only last year, UAE established full diplomatic relations with the state of Isreal under the Abraham Accords to bring peace and stability in the Middle East.
However, it seems that the Quad of the Middle East is progressing much faster as each country has agreed to appoint senior professionals to a joint working group that will formulate options for cooperation.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that the foreign ministers had “discussed expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and increasing maritime security”.
The ministers also discussed more people-to-people ties in technology and science, and ways to support global public health in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s “support for the Abraham Accords and normalisation agreements and discussed future opportunities for collaboration in the region and globally”, Price said.
India, Israel and the UAE have already stepped up trilateral cooperation, especially in trade and investment, since the US-brokered the Abraham Accords in August 2020.
A statement issued at the time by the 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.”
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