NEW DELHI: The global food and energy crisis arising out of the Ukraine conflict is likely to figure prominently in the first virtual summit of the four-nation grouping comprising India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
US President Joe Biden is set to host the summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli PM Yair Lapid and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit to Israel on July 14.
The grouping is known as ‘I2U2’ with “I” standing for India and Israel and “U” for the US and the UAE.
The US President will be on a visit to West Asia from July 13 to 16.
The first virtual summit of the ‘I2U2’ is expected to take place on Thursday, people familiar with the development said on Monday.
In their deliberations, the leaders are also likely to touch upon the broad contours of the new grouping and identify the key areas of cooperation.
The leaders may deliberate on pressing regional and global issues, including the energy and food crisis in the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict, the people cited above said.
The grouping is expected to largely focus on issues relating to trade and investment.
India’s bilateral strategic ties with each of the three countries are on an upswing in the past few years.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the global energy and food security concerns last week on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bali.
Jaishankar also held a separate meeting with his counterpart from the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (PTI)