G20 podium
IN a speech in Washington some weeks back, American National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: “If you remember nothing else from my speech, remember I2U2, because you will be hearing more about it as we go forward,” he said.
The US NSA was speaking concerning connectivity and outlined that at the heart of their plan was to connect South Asia to the Middle East and the US through a series of projects and collaborative arrangements that were either at the blueprint stage or under implementation. Sullivan said the grouping was in the process of taking “some new exciting steps that we’re looking forward to undertaking in the months ahead (and) in ways that advance our economic technology and diplomacy.
‘‘A more integrated, interconnected Middle East empowers our allies and partners, advances regional peace and prosperity, and reduces the resource demands on the US in this region over the long term without sacrificing our fundamental interests or our involvement in the region,” he said
Genesis of the idea
According to the US website Axios, ‘‘The idea for the new initiative came up during talks that were held over the last 18 months in another forum called I2U2, which includes the US, Israel, the UAE and India. The forum was established in late 2021 to discuss strategic infrastructure projects in the Middle East. Israel raised the idea of connecting the region through railways during the I2U2 meetings over the last year. Part of the idea was to use India’s expertise on such big infrastructure projects. Nobody said it out loud but it was about China from day one. ’
‘’The initiative would include connecting Arab countries in the Levant and the Gulf via a network of railways that will also connect to India through seaports in the Gulf,’’ said Axios while clarifying that ‘’Israel is still not part of this proposed network. It is expected to be integrated into the mix once it normalises its relationship with Saudi Arabia.’’
India’s role in initiative
Many wonder what does India bring to the table? Simple – a formidable reputation for creating railway infrastructure! In fact, Indian Railways is a true ‘Made in India’ story with the first Integral Coach Factory coming up in the fifties followed by loco factories across the country. Engineers from the Railway Engineering School in Jamalpur are rated as highly as those from the IITs although they are much lower in profile. They are the backbone on which the. Indian Railways runs its network so efficiently.
The country’s vast network and ability to transport large numbers of passengers and millions of tons of goods (while the efficiency has gone up as far as logistics is concerned it is still nowhere where it ought to be) rail network at home. The country has also created successful infra in Sri Lanka and that success has now been recreated in Africa where just the other day External Affairs Minister took a ride in a ‘Made in India’ train from the capital Maputo to Machava and held discussions on green transport, railways, electric mobility and waterways connectivity. In fact he even conducted a press conference on board the train!
Formidable skills
So the plan is to use India’s formidable public and private sector skills to create this network and help connect the region with each and with India. For India, it will be a win-win as it helps enhance connectivity with its immediate western neighbours using the ports of Chabahar and Bandar-e-Abbas (Iran), Duqm (Oman), Dubai (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Kuwait City.
This was a key part of the deliberations when Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his delegation and also with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE National Security Advisor and Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor of India, One readout of the meeting said: ‘’The four delegations agreed to maintain regular consultations and follow up on the matters discussed throughout the day.”
Cold War mentality
Chinese mouthpiece Global Times not surprisingly was none too pleased with the developments and said, ‘’China has been engaging with the Middle East through the Belt and Road Initiative for years. Its peacemaker role in the recent Saudi-Iran detente has been lauded by the international community, countries in the region in particular, and injected momentum of stability to the region. All these trajectories have deeply worried the US. This is the revival of the Cold War mentality in the Middle East. The plan is a deliberate containment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
