US President Joe Biden and the leaders of India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) attending the G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend hope to announce an agreement on a massive infrastructure project that will restructure trade between the Gulf and South Asia.
The project aims to connect Arab countries in the Levant and the Gulf region via a railway network, and to link them with India through shipping routes from ports in the area.
This information was first published by the US website Axios on September 7th. According to Axios's informed sources, this joint infrastructure project is expected to be one of the key issues that Mr. Biden wants to present at the G20 Summit in India on September 9-10.
This project is one of the key initiatives the White House is promoting in the Middle East as China's influence in the region grows.
US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One on September 7, 2023, to depart for New Delhi, India, to attend the G20 Summit, an event in which Chinese President Xi Jinping will be absent. Photo: The National News
The Middle East is a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has funded hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure in emerging markets. In March, Beijing brokered a normalization agreement between two rival regional powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The massive US-led infrastructure project emerged as the Biden administration sought a broader diplomatic deal in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel. Once relations between the leading Arab kingdom and Israel ease, the Jewish state could also join the railway project and expand its access to Europe through its seaports.
Beyond its diplomatic significance, U.S. officials contacted by Reuters said they hope such an infrastructure agreement could help reduce shipping times and costs, making trade faster and cheaper.
The White House declined to comment, Axios reported, noting that in a statement before Biden's departure to India, officials said the U.S. president would participate in the "Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership" event on September 9.
A U.S. official involved in the negotiations said the talks are still ongoing and may or may not yield concrete results in time for an announcement on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India.
The Indian and Saudi embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. UAE officials declined to comment .
Minh Duc (According to Axios, Reuters)
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