India's Strategic Initiatives to Counter China's Influence in the Middle East

Via Syndicated Feed

During a meeting between India's National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, and his counterparts from the United States and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also in attendance. The leaders discussed a shared infrastructure project linking Middle Eastern countries through railway networks.
According to a report by Foreign Policy, India is planning a significant connectivity project to counter China's growing influence in the Gulf. The project aims to link New Delhi to the Middle East through a series of roads, railways, and seaports. The project was discussed during a meeting between India's National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, and his counterparts from the US and UAE, as well as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The leaders discussed a joint infrastructure project connecting the Middle Eastern countries via rail. The idea for the project was formed during meetings of the I2U2 group, which also includes Israel, over the past year, as reported by Axios.
The I2U2 group, created to foster US-India cooperation in the Middle East, was not established as a response to China's influence in the region, considering the close economic ties that the UAE and Israel have with China. Although Israel is not formally involved in the connectivity project, its participation in the I2U2 group suggests it may have a role. The project seeks to link the Middle East to India via roads, railways, and seaports, with the idea emerging during the I2U2 group's meetings over the past year. 

The Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel's relations with several Arab countries, facilitated the formation of the I2U2 group, and discussions within it led to the creation of the connectivity project. This initiative demonstrates that India and the United States are extending their collaboration to counter China beyond the Indo-Pacific region and into the Middle East. The proposed project aims to use India's infrastructure-building capabilities, such as constructing the world's largest rail system and contributing to cross-border electricity-sharing arrangements, to establish a more profound infrastructure presence in the Middle East, countering China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). According to a former senior Israeli official, the Biden administration sees the connectivity project as a way to balance China's influence in the region, who stated, "Nobody said it out loud, but it was about China from day one."
As per one evaluation, India could benefit from both land and sea trade routes that run from Israel and the UAE to Greece's Piraeus port and into Europe in the best-case scenario. India aims to join a new multinational effort to counter China's increasing influence in the Middle East, which BRI is propelling investments and a recent strategic agreement with Iran. Beijing's recent facilitation of a reconciliation deal between Tehran and Riyadh is noteworthy. The Middle East is becoming increasingly important for India due to its trade interests and the millions of Indians who work in the region and send remittances back home. Furthermore, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's recent visit to New Delhi was planned to meet with Indian counterparts about the connectivity project, despite leaving early due to the crisis with Gaza. Cohen stated in a pre-visit statement that India can significantly enhance regional stability in the Middle East. India has the opportunity to strengthen its influence, trade, and diplomacy beyond the Indo-Pacific region, and this comes in a year when it holds the G-20 presidency, has a rapid economic growth rate, and has overtaken China as the world's most populous country.
IndraStra Global Staff has not edited this story, which is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

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