The National Security Advisors (NSAs) of the US, India, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) met the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh on 7th May 2023, with a motive to expand the infrastructural connectivity in the region. They also focused on facilitating the normalization of Saudi’s relations with Israel.
The infrastructural connectivity referred to a joint infrastructure project to connect the Gulf (UAE and Saudi Arabia), Arab (Jordan) countries, and Israel via a network of railways that would be connected to India via shipping lanes from ports in the region. This idea was first coined by Israel during an I2U2 inaugural virtual meeting held on 14th July 2022.
Effects of the railway link on the participating countries
Axios, an American digital news outlet, in its report stated that the US aims to counter China’s growing influence in the region through this project and promote its rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The perceived disengagement of the USA from the region has pushed Saudi Arabia closer to China. Besides, the USA’s concerns have increased since China brokered the Saudi Arabia-Iran deal on 10th March 2023. Thus, through the project the US intends to debunk the perception among the Arab States that it is disengaging from West Asia. The USA intends to connect South and West Asia and advance its financial, technological, and diplomatic power. The White House, however, declined to comment on the deal when asked for confirmation by Axios. Further, Indian and Saudi Embassies in Washington, along with the officials of Emirates declined to comment.
UAE and Saudi Arabia are being pragmatic about this infrastructural development and its effect on their economic, security and geo- strategic foreign policies. The two countries are eying economic development and diversification of the base of their economies from oil to green energy resources. Following the Riyadh meeting, Saudi Arabia issued a statement focusing on economic growth and stability in the region.
For India the project gives greater connectivity to West Asia, Europe and Africa providing it with a remarkable opportunity to capture more significant share of trade flow. After the China- brokered Saudi Arabia and Iran reconciliation has potential implications on India’s interests in West Asia particularly its energy security. So, this connectivity project gives an alternative route to India in addition to the North-South Transport Corridor and the Suez Canal to reach Europe. It will help India to ship goods to Israel’s northern town of Beit She’an and then to Haifa port. From there, goods would be shipped to Greece’s Piraeus Port, one of the largest ports in Europe, from where India could access the entire European continent. In addition, the project will allow faster movement of crude oil and minimize India’s cost in the long term. This joint railway linking, Mumbai to Piraeus port in Greece via Haifa in Israel would cut the transit time from Mumbai to Piraeus from 17 to 10 days.
Developments and viewpoints regarding the project
Chase Freeman, the former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia described the plan as a fantasy foreign policy rather than a serious infrastructure initiative. He also questioned the project’s practicality and financing and commented that the US is not known for building railways. Freeman’s point is worth consideration as the project’s financing is yet to be discussed to establish the mechanism to pool the resources for the project.
Also, Saudi Arabia and UAE have not yet made any public statement on the project. Additionally, the Gulf countries are active partners in BRI. Consequently, in 2022, China built a new railway track that connected its Ningxia province with West Asia, the criticality here is that it is the first Sea-Rail intermodal freight train to Iran. Besides, as per an editorial published in Global Times stated the view of Chinese Communist Party that I2U2, together with QUAD and AUKUS, constitutes the US’ global strategy to contain China, explaining the Pro- China media’s standing critical to the project’s feasibility and operational capacity.
Subsequently, it is important to note that Israel has not yet became a part of the project due to the lack of normalization of its relation with the countries in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia.
Significance of G20 Summit
There is a speculation after the initial reports of the project that, the project is likely to be announced on 9th September 2023, as New Delhi would be hosting the G20 Summit in the presence of the US President Joe Biden and the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Summarizing, the project is an attempt by the US, India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to promote economic development, regional security, and connectivity. It has the potential to enhance economic ties and cultural exchange between the Gulf States, Arab countries, and India.