Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval met his US counterpart Jake Sullivan, Emirati counterpart Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Jeddah on May 7.
The meetings were aimed at advancing their “shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region interconnected with India and the world,” the White House said in a statement.
NSA Doval and Jake Sullivan are scheduled to meet again in Australia later this month on the sidelines of the Quad Summit. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after they launched the ambitious India-US ICET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology) dialogue in Washinton in January.
Joint infra project
According to reports, the leaders discussed a possible major joint infrastructure project to connect Gulf and Arab countries via a network of Railways that would also be connected to India via shipping lanes from ports in the region.
India is aggressively seeking a greater strategic role for itself in the Middle East along with Saudi Arabia, UAE and the US as it is “concerned” about the increasing influence of Beijing in the region.
China had recently brokered an “understanding” between Saudis and Iran. But the Saudis and the Americans still want to create a “robust front” against Tehran, hence the present conversation with India on a possible new military alliance.
Diplomat’s opinion
Talmiz Ahmad, a veteran diplomat and former Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia, was reported as saying, “This is a desperate attempt by the US to become involved in West Asia now that China has come forward and got the peace deal done between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The US’s original plan to create a military alliance against Iran has collapsed so now it is in a state of panic and wants to drag India also in.” He said, “It is important for India to deal with China bilaterally and play its card cautiously.”
