New Delhi, July 14
The first ‘I2U2’ summit on Thursday zeroed in on two specific projects with initial investments of $ 1.33 billion to give Indian farmers guaranteed access to Middle East markets and set up a clean energy project in Gujarat to make India the supply chain hub of renewable energy.
These are among the half a dozen projects identified by the Sherpas of the four countries before Thursday’s virtual summit between PM Narendra Modi along with US President Joe Biden, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israel PM Yair Lapid.
A joint statement issued after the summit said the “unique grouping of countries” aims to harness the entrepreneurial spirit to tackle some of the greatest global challenges through joint investments in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.
Thursday’s inaugural I2U2 leaders 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. To this end, UAE will invest $ 2 billion to develop food parks in India with expertise from the US and Israel to maximise crop yields and, in turn, help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.
Two states – Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat – have started exploring options and have identified banana, potato, rice, spices and onions for the food parks. “We will use this as an opportunity to export perishable food products grown in this corridor to the strategic markets of the Gulf through UAE. It will enable significant job creation in India,” explained Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.
The second is a hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat consisting of 300 mw of wind and solar capacity complemented by a battery energy storage system. The US Trade and Development Agency funded a feasibility study for the $ 330 million project and UAE companies will be investment partners. Such projects have the potential to make India a global hub for alternate supply chains in the renewable energy sector, said the Foreign Secretary.
The ‘I2U2’ backed the Abraham Accords which enabled the emergence of these opportunities of economic cooperation in the Middle East and South Asia.
The I2U2 joint statement said the two projects were only the first in a long-term strategic partnership to promote initiatives and investments that improve the movement of people and goods, and increase sustainability and resilience through collaborative science and technology partnerships.
