The United States plans to embark upon a new four-nation dialogue that includes India, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and itself during US President Joe Biden's first visit to the Middle East from 13 July to 16 July.
The four-nation quad will be called I2U2 (for India-Israel and UAE-US) and will focus on global and regional issues of West Asia, a senior White House official said on a background call with reporters on Monday, 13 June.
What's I2U2?
The virtual summit with the I2U2 heads of state will focus on the "food security crisis and other areas of cooperation across hemispheres where UAE and Israel serve as important innovation hubs."
The visit will not only create an entirely new group of partners, including India, Israel, UAE, and the United States, but also attempt to repair the relations with the rest of the region that had been scarred during Trump's presidency. Biden's focus will be on Israel's increasing integration into the region, both through the Abraham Accords with the UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain, and through deepening ties among Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.
Biden will visit the Middle East region from 13 July to 16 July, and his first stop is Israel. It will be Biden's first visit to Israel in his capacity as president. The last time Biden visited Israel was about five decades ago as a young senator.
Biden will hold a virtual call during his visit to the Middle East where the new initiative will be launched with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and UAE's President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to the transcript of the call with reporters conducted by the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Visit to Israel and West Bank
Biden will also visit the West Bank to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders.
Biden will then visit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will be a part of a summit of the Gulf Cooperation + 3 i.e. GCC+3, which includes leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, along with Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt.
The Biden administration has provided half a billion dollars in support, including humanitarian, economic, and security assistance for the Palestinians since April 2021.
The Biden administration hopes that this presidential visit will be the start of a new and reinvigorated dialogue, both between the US and Palestine but also between the Palestinian regional capitals and most importantly, Israelis.
Visit to Saudi Arabia
Biden's meeting with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be a crucial interaction in Jeddah. Biden is also expected to meet with Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, who had been in the headlines as he had been accused by the United States of killing a Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
As opposed to Trump, who had built strong ties with the Saudi Royals and withheld the intelligence report on Khashoggi's killing that referred to the crown prince's involvement, Biden released that same report and called Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)