Abu Dhabi hosts inaugural meeting of the I2U2 business forum

The first business forum of the I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-US) mechanism was held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with participants focusing on exploring potential partnerships in various sectors such as food security, energy, water, space, transport, health, and technology.

The event brought together senior representatives from the public and private sectors of the four countries to discuss opportunities for cooperation.

In order to promote economic collaboration among its members in important industries, the I2U2 organization was established in July 2022. In seven concurrent sessions during the business forum, attendees explored prospective alliances and exchanged views.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the companies and private sector representatives who took part in the business forum "exchanged insights and discussed potential partnerships during seven parallel sessions focused on the food security, energy, water, space, transport, health, and technology fields."

The MEA added that I2U2 intends to mobilize private sector resources and skills to support the modernization of infrastructure, the decarbonization of industries, the advancement of green technology, and the improvement of public health.

The UAE is considering investing $2 billion in integrated agricultural facilities across India and developing a 300-MW wind and solar power plant in Gujarat as part of I2U2's efforts to mobilize private sector capital and expertise to promote green technologies.

Ahmed Al Sayegh, the state minister for the UAE, Jose Fernandez, the undersecretary of state for the United States, Dammu Ravi, the secretary for economic relations for the ministry of external affairs, Ronen Levi, the director general of the foreign ministry of Israel, and Brett McGurk, the Middle East and North Africa coordinator for the White House, all gave speeches at the I2U2 business forum.

Authorities emphasized the importance of direct interaction between decision-makers and private sector stakeholders of four nations as they reiterated their commitment to increasing economic cooperation under I2U2.

MEA Secretary Ravi reaffirmed India's dedication to I2U2 and asked all participants to try to make real progress on I2U2 initiatives, such as establishing an innovation center in Gurugram. He urged I2U2 partners to work toward a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle in line with India's LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) strategy.

India also joined the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate, which was established by the US and the UAE at COP26, at the summit as its most recent member. This is expected to promote increased collaboration in agricultural and food system innovation related to climate change.

The I2U2 business forum seeks to develop into a regular venue for commercial and governmental organizations from the four nations to create real collaborative business partnerships in the economic and technology sectors.