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India's role in I2U2 is pivotal, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

India is going to play a significant role in I2U2, foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Thursday, reports ETV Bharat's Chandrakala Choudhury

India's role in I2U2 is pivotal, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra
India's role in I2U2 is pivotal, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

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Published : Jul 14, 2022, 10:01 PM IST

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday participated in the maiden I2U2 summit virtually along with the US, UAE, and Israel. He had a purposeful conversation with other leaders on strengthening the economic ties in the region and beyond and also held discussions on promoting specific joint projects.

In response to ETV Bharat's question as to what is the significance of the new grouping given the geopolitical shifts unfolding across the Western Indian Ocean and India's role in I2U2, foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, "India has a strategic partnership with each of the I2U2 countries and India's role in I2U2 would be pivotal and would also be a role in which, we would facilitate and undertake many of these areas of actual economic activities in our country".

He was responding during a special media briefing here in New Delhi on Thursday. "The I2U2 broadly aimed at encouraging joint investment in water, energy, transportation, space, health & food security. The grouping aims to mobilize private sector capital and encourage economic cooperation," the Foreign Secretary said.

"Going forward, in terms of areas of cooperation, linking up the I2U2 country's capital rich nature to start up innovation sector in India to Fintech - as India has phenomenal capacities in the space of Fintech both in terms of products, services and now increasingly in terms of platforms, would offer some bases for us to be able to expand our economic capacities into the I2U2", Kwatra added.

Also read: I2U2 to establish hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat

During the I2U2 leader's summit on Thursday, PM Modi said that I2U2 has set a positive agenda right from today's first summit. The leaders of I2U2 have identified Joint Projects in many areas, and have also prepared a roadmap to move forward in them. Under the " I2U2" framework, they have agreed to increase joint investment in six key areas of water, energy, transport, space, health, and food security.

"It is clear that the vision and agenda of "I2U2" are progressive and practical. By mobilizing the mutual strengths of our countries - Capital, Expertise and Markets - we can accelerate our agenda, and contribute significantly to the global economy", said PM Modi. He added that the cooperative framework is also a good model for practical cooperation in the face of increasing global uncertainties.

I2U2 was initially formed in October 2021 following the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, to deal with issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure and transport in the region. At that time, it was called the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation. That was referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’. In the grouping’s name, ‘I2’ stands for India and Israel, whereas ‘U2’ stands for the USA and the UAE. This will not only revitalize and re-energize the system of alliances and partnerships around the world but also stitch together partnerships that did not exist previously or were not utilized to their full extent.

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