TOPIC : I2U2- A NEW ENTRANT INTO THE WEST ASIAN GEOPOLITICS

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THE CONTEXT: The Indian PM attended the inaugural leaders’ meeting of a new alliance called I2U2 made up of Israel, India, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States in July 2022. In this article, we will analyse this new organisation and its various implications from the UPSC perspective.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT I2U2

WHAT IS I2U2?

• I2U2, often known as the “West Asian Quad,” is an acronym representing India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
• When Indian External Affairs Minister Visited Israel in October 2021, the foreign ministers of the four nations met.
• At that time, the organisation was known as the “International Forum for Economic Cooperation.”
• The countries have said there is no military angle to their cooperation and are pushing a constructive agenda focused on the economy, especially infrastructure projects.

WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF I2U2?

• The I2U2’s aim is to discuss “common areas of mutual interest, to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in their respective regions and beyond.”
• I2U2  aims to encourage joint investments in six mutually identified areas such as:

• • water,
  • energy,
  • transportation,
  • space,
  • health, and
  • food security.

• It intends to mobilise private sector capital and expertise to help:
• modernise the infrastructure,
• low carbon development pathways for the industries,
• improve public health, and
• the development of critical emerging and green technologies.

THE OUTCOMES OF THE I2U2 SUMMIT

The UAE has launched a two-billion-dollar investment in a series of Integrated Food Parks across India. These parks will use cutting-edge climate-smart technologies to prevent food waste and spoilage, save fresh water, and use renewable energy sources. India will supply suitable acreage for the project and would help farmers integrate into the food parks. The private sectors of the United States and Israel will be invited to contribute their expertise and new solutions to the project’s overall sustainability. These investments will aid in increasing crop yields and combating food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.The I2U2 also announced that it would advance a hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat consisting of 300 megawatts (M.W.) of wind and solar capacity complemented by a battery energy storage system.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR THE COUNTRIES FROM I2U2?

FOR USA

• The I2U2 will enable Washington to expand and restore partnerships that suffered during the Donald Trump regime and also reframe relationships in the Middle East.

FOR INDIA

• India will benefit from backing the I2U2 as it allows New Delhi to play a greater global role and deepen ties with the Middle East, an area it views significantly because of its energy and economic interests and a large diaspora presence. (Read Ahead)

FOR UAE

• The bloc presents the UAE with an opportunity to get an edge in the Persian Gulf — the maritime route that sees most of Asia’s oil passing through.

FOR ISRAEL

• For Israel, the I2U2 is a chance to improve ties with the Arab world. Israel will look to New Delhi’s assistance in bridging differences between Israel and other Arab countries and resolving problems that have made the region volatile for decades.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF I2U2

BRIDGE ACROSS THE RELIGIONS

• By highlighting their shared commitment to pluralism and cooperation across faiths, I2U2 could become a venue for cooperation on a variety of other initiatives.
• An I2U2 that advances pluralism across its member states could also encourage the practice of related values — including protections for minority, religious and human rights — within them as well.

BROADER VISION FOR WORLD ORDER

• In addition, the shift would offer the Biden administration a means to broaden its vision of world order from one that is primarily defined by “democracy versus authoritarianism” to one that considers other important features of national identity and helps to build different sorts of bridges with strategic but undemocratic partners like the UAE.

BALANCING ACT FOR UAE

• The UAE is working to become one of the most globally connected players in the region.
• One of the pillars of this strategy is to pivot to Asia. But in contrast to the U.S. pivot to Asia aiming at confronting China, the UAE considers China one of its main partners in achieving this objective.
• I2U2 is also one of the ways the UAE is balancing its relations with its two main Asian partners: China and India.

HOW IS INDIA GOING TO BE BENEFITED FROM THE I2U2?

CAPITAL AND TECHNOLOGY MOBILISATION

• India sees clear and tangible benefits from the I2U2, starting with the group’s first two announcements: a $2 billion investment and technological assistance for agricultural initiatives in two Indian states, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh; and support for a hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat.
• Indian companies are keen to participate in this project and contribute to India’s goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. Such projects have the potential to make India a global hub for alternate supply chains in the renewable energy sector.
• I2U2 thus offers a model and platform for sustained mobilisation of capital from the UAE that is supported by Israeli and American technologies and championed by Washington.

DIPLOMATIC PLATFORM FOR NORMALISING TIES

• Given India’s close ties to both Israel and the UAE, New Delhi sees the I2U2 as a diplomatic tool for accelerating, deepening, and ensuring the ongoing normalisation of relations between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi.
• Israel provides key military technologies to India, but previous generations of Indian officials downplayed those defence links, partly for internal political reasons and partly to appease their Arab neighbours.

STRATEGIC AUTONOMY MAINTENANCE

• I2U2 offers India an opportunity to cooperate with the United States on its own terms: not as a junior associate or a formal ally, but as a self-confident and “strategically autonomous” partner.
• I2U2’s emphasis on voluntary economic initiatives rather than binding multilateral trade deals (like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) that India has repeatedly rejected is also attractive.
• In this respect, I2U2 resembles Washington’s new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which India has also joined.

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL RISKS AREAS FOR THE GROUP?

The UAE and India are focused on pursuing economic cooperation through I2U2, and it seems that the United States and Israel are willing to go along with this approach. However, it is not clear whether any of them will introduce geopolitical objectives to I2U2 in the future. This would be problematic as the countries in the group have conflicting positions on how to deal with China, Russia and Iran, which may affect the future of the group and its prospects of success. The UAE, in particular, will strive to avoid this risk. Israel’s ambassador to India stressed that the group is “not against anyone,” adding that “it’s for our people and for making the world a better place,” an important message that was not echoed widely enough.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• The Jerusalem Declaration signed during the Biden visit to the Middle East reflects the strength of Israeli relations with the United States. I2U2 is also a demonstration of the extent to which the United States is committed to advancing Israel’s integration in the region. This can help the movement towards greater peace and progress in the region.
• Although the cooperation among I2U2 members represents key areas in the 21st-century global economy, the group needs to avoid entering into geopolitical issues that could derail its principal objective.
• I2U2 can expand by advancing cooperation in new areas in the future or by pursuing cooperation with other partners in both the Middle East and South Asia.
• The leaders also reaffirmed their support for the Abraham Accords and other peace and normalisation arrangements with Israel, and this can be a way of addressing the crucial  Palestinian question in the long term.
• The criticism of the agreement on food park by the farmers’ union in India that it will bring big corporates into the Indian agriculture sector, which will reduce farmers into a peasant, needs to be taken in the right spirit by the Indian government and the farmers’ need to be taken into confidence.
• India ought to take the opportunities provided by the I2U2 to mobilise technology and capital into crucial developmental areas without creating a perception that it is moving away from the principled stand of a two-state solution.

THE CONCLUSION: I2U2 has enormous potential, and its composition affords numerous chances for win-win cooperation. The United States has tremendous capabilities in every possible area; India has massive human resources and talents; Israel has advanced technology in a number of vital disciplines; and the UAE is developing creative policies, luring start-ups, and is willing to commit large money. However, the weight of its sustainability will fall mostly on the UAE and Israel — the key beneficiaries — to keep the interest of the U.S. and India and justify its continuation.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. What is I2U2? Critically analyse its objectives.
2. How far do you agree with the view that the entry into the geopolitical arena by the I2U2 can pose risks to its principal objective?
3. The I2U2 sets the stage for a new and dynamic phase in India’s relations with the Middle East. Comment.