G20 Summit: US, India, Saudi, UAE, EU Set To Unveil Railway, Shipping Corridor Deal

India, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the EU are set to unveil railway, and ports connectivity deal linking countries across the Middle East, South Asia and Europe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi, reported ANI citing a White House official. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is likely to be announced today, according to White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, as per ANI. 

According to the report, the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and other G20 partners are likely to explore the shipping and rail transportation corridor. The project is aimed at helping in the flow of commerce, energy and data from India across the Middle East up to Europe. 

Finer added that President Biden and Prime Minister Modi will meet with other leaders for an event focused on global infrastructure later in the day. 

"The deal will benefit low and middle-income countries in the region, and enable a critical role for the Middle East in global commerce. We see this as having a high appeal to the countries involved, and also globally, because it is transparent because it is a high standard because it is not coercive," Finer told mediapersons here, as quoted by ANI. 

Finer, however, mentioned that it was not just a railway project but more of a shipping and railway project. 

"It is not just the Railway project, it is a shipping and Railway project and it is important for people to understand how expansive, ambitious and ground-breaking this will be" he added. 

"The way we see the infra project, it is an affirmative positive project. It has appeal for countries underserved by infra. We are not asking countries to make a zero-sum choice. We have seen other efforts that are not as ambitious, we feel good about contrast of what we provide," the White House Deputy National Security Advisor said. 

Apart from connecting to India through shipping lanes from ports in the region, the project is aimed to connect countries in the Middle East via a network of railways, the report said. 

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