I2U2

1.Background

• I2U2 stands for India, Israel, the UAE, and the US, and was also referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’ 
•  At that time, the grouping was called the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation’.
• The countries have had sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation.
• The I2U2 was conceptualized during the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the four countries, which was held in 2021. 
• It is broadly aimed at encouraging joint investments in six mutually identified areas - water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security. 
• Through this grouping, the intention principally is to mobilize the private sector capital and deploy it for many areas of economic cooperation. 
• The key one's - expertise, deploy expertise to modernize infrastructure, pursue pathways for low carbon development for our industries, improve public health and access to vaccines, advance physical connectivity between the countries in the Middle East region, jointly create new solutions for waste treatment, explore joint financing opportunities, connect our start-ups to I2U2 investments and also look at opportunities in the space of FinTech. 
• These projects, these initial project areas, can serve as a model for Economic Cooperation and of course offer opportunities for our business persons and workers in this field.

2. Outcomes of the Summit

• The Summit had a very positive, constructive and tangible agenda, which included discussions on promoting specific projects, specific joint projects, and also discussions on common sectoral areas for the benefit of respective countries as also for our regions.

3. Areas of Cooperation

• The project has four keys connected to the people on the ground. 
• One of them of course, is the maximization of the crop yields, 
• two enhancement of Indian farmers’ incomes, 
• three, contributing overall to the food security in South Asia, and in this case, as an extension also in the Middle East.
• Fourth-Other common sectoral areas of interest these areas mainly related to, as I mentioned in the beginning, also how to modernize infrastructure, including connectivity.

4. I2U2 Significance for India

• Advantage from Abraham Accords:
• India will get the advantage of the Abraham Accords to deepen engagement with Israel without risking its ties with the UAE and the other Arab states.
• Benefit Market:
• India is a massive consumer market. It’s a massive producer of high-tech and highly sought-after goods as well. India will benefit from this grouping.
• Alliances:
• It will help India in building alliances — political alliances, social alliances.

NOTE- The Abraham Accords of 2020 had led to Israel formally normalising diplomatic ties with the UAE and two other countries in the region, marking an important shift in the stance of West Asian countries on Israel.