Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Abraham Accord, I2U2
Mains level: Read the attached story
The US administration has named the new grouping as “I2U2” — “I” for India and Israel and “U” for the US and UAE. This was earlier referred as West Asian Quad.
What is the news?
- US President Joe Biden will host a virtual summit with PM Modi, Israel PM Naftali Bennett and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit to West Asia from July 13 to 16.
I2U2 Initiative
- Following the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, I2U2 was founded in October 2021 to address marine security, infrastructure, and transportation challenges in the region.
- It was known as the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation’at the time.
- At that time, UAE had referred to the new grouping as the ‘West Asian Quad’.
What makes this deal outstanding?
- UAE forming sharing desk with Israel is no easy deal. Arab sentiments against Israel and their proposition for Anti-Semitism are well known.
Significance of the initiative
- I2U2 seeks to empower the partners and encourages them to collaborate more closely, resulting in a more stable region.
- India is seen as a large consumer market as well as a large producer of high-tech and highly sought-after items in the United States.
- This has led India to enhance its relationship with Israel without jeopardising its ties with the UAE and other Arab states.
Back2Basics: Abraham Accords
- The Israel–UAE normalization agreement is officially called the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement.
- It was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020.
- The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so.
- Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries.
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