US, India, Israel and UAE strengthen collaboration in energy and food sectors

If the year 2022 can be characterised by anything, it is the resurgence of US diplomacy, even now, at a time when Russia continues to wage an invasion of Ukraine that has shaken the foundations of what we knew, until this year, as the established world order.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has begun a tour of the Middle East aimed at further deepening diplomatic relations in countries such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and although this tour has only just begun, Biden also wanted to meet with a country that goes beyond this region: India.  

Thus, in a new meeting, the United States held a meeting with Israel, the United Arab Emirates and India in what is known as the first "I2UI" summit. In addition to the presence of Biden, the meeting was also attended by acting Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan.

According to a statement released by the White House, the leaders reportedly discussed "innovative ways to ensure more diversified, long-term food production and delivery systems that can ameliorate the global food crisis," as well as support, through joint investments, initiatives in health, space, transportation, energy and water.

The four countries intend to invest more capital to "modernise infrastructure, advance low-carbon development pathways for our industries, improve public health, access to vaccines and advance physical connectivity between countries in the Middle East region", among other projects.

The two main themes of this unprecedented meeting were food security and clean energy. For the first time, the leaders discussed new ways of guaranteeing more diversified food production in the long term, as well as new food distribution systems to help manage the food crisis, which is currently experiencing a convulsive situation, also fuelled by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

In terms of food security, the United Arab Emirates, which currently hosts the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and COP28 in 2023, will invest a total of $2 billion to develop food parks across India that will integrate "state-of-the-art climate-smart technologies" to reduce food waste, use renewable energy sources and conserve freshwater.

As agreed, India will provide suitable land for the installation of farmers in the food parks, and the United States, along with Israel, will seek to lend its expertise by offering "innovative solutions" to help contribute to the sustainability of the project.

On the other hand, in terms of supporting clean energy, the group has promoted a hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat, India's westernmost state. The new project will have 300 megawatts of wind and solar capacity, complemented by a battery energy storage system. 

For this infrastructure, the United States has funded a $330 million study and Indian companies themselves are interested in being part of the project to contribute to India's goal of achieving 500GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.

With the implementation of these projects, India aims to establish itself as a "global supply chain hub" alternative to non-renewable energy. India is one of the three countries that emit the most C02 emissions into the atmosphere, along with China and the United States.

India has also expressed interest in joining the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Israel in the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) initiative, which the other leaders welcomed. They noted that these would be only "first steps" to further promote initiatives that help improve "the movement of people and goods across hemispheres, and increase sustainability and resilience through collaborative science and technology partnerships".

At the diplomatic level, the US has sought to reaffirm its support for the Abraham Accords, as well as "other peace and normalisation agreements with Israel" in order to continue to cooperate and strengthen ties to develop cooperation at all levels. However, Palestine remains on the US international agenda, and Washington has announced a 315 million euro aid package for Palestine.

This aid will be used to finance initiatives aimed at improving access to health services, as well as strengthening the digital economy in the area. In this sense, Biden announced Washington's support for the deployment of the 4G network in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, along with other measures that will help to boost economic development in Palestine, promote dialogue "between peoples to support peace" and reduce food insecurity.

The Democrat is also expected to announce a contribution of up to 100 million euros for the Jerusalem Hospital Network during a scheduled visit to Augusta Hospital in East Jerusalem (EJHN).

In this regard, the White House has stressed in a statement that this hospital "is a cluster of six hospitals in East Jerusalem that provides specialised services including oncology, dialysis, neonatal intensive care and specialised maternity services (...) funding will be provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is combined with health system and hospital reforms".

In addition to health system support, Biden announced 201 million euros for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Through this funding, Washington aims to assist and protect refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

With this new funding, the US has consolidated its position as the largest donor to UNRWA, bringing total assistance during the Biden administration to more than 618 million euros.

In addition, the food issue is another issue that has been on the US agenda in Palestine. As such, Washington has announced that it will provide 15 million euros to Palestinians in vulnerable situations. This money will be received by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and two other NGOs that will initially provide assistance to more than 2,100 people who are currently at risk of food insecurity.

According to the White House, this allocation is part of the United States' "pledge" to "protect the world's most vulnerable populations from the escalating global food security crisis", at a time when countries in the Middle East are suffering the ravages of the food crisis, both as a result of the internal conflicts in those countries, coupled with severe drought and the current crisis in Europe as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.