US President Biden To Visit Israel & Saudi Arabia, Launch 'West Asia Quad' Involving India
The four-nation dialogue, which will focus on West Asia, will be launched during Biden’s visit to Israel, his first leg of his maiden trip as President to West Asia, from July 13 to 16.
New Delhi: In first trip of his presidency to the Middle East, US President Joe Biden will visit Israel and Saudi Arabia next month, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Washington has said it will launch a new four-nation dialogue with India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates during the US President’s visit next month to the region, IANS reported. It will be called I2U2 -- for India and Israel whose names begin with the letter “I” and the US and the UAE that begin with the letter “U”, as per the news agency.
The four-nation dialogue, which will focus on West Asia, will be launched during Biden’s visit to Israel, his first leg of his maiden trip as President to West Asia, from July 13 to 16.
The new initiative will be launched in a virtual call Biden will hold with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and UAE's President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said a senior White House official.
Describing the meeting as a “unique engagement”, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added they will discuss security and areas of cooperation across hemispheres where UAE and Israel serve as important innovation hubs.
The US President will also visit West Bank, home to the Palestinian Authority, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will meet around a dozen regional leaders.
Biden has since coming into office in January last year launched several multilateral dialogues and initiatives such as a three-nation group with Australia and the United Kingdom called AUKUS and a Quadrilateral dialogue with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan besides deepening and strengthening existing platforms such as the Quad with India, Australia and Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
He has also returned the US to several world bodies that it had left under former president Donald Trump.
Biden’s visit is expected to reinforce the US’ “iron-clad commitment” to Israel’s security and prosperity and continue the process of its integration into the region under the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump between Israel on one hand and the UAE and Bahrain on the other in 2020.
The US President will also meet with the Palestinian leaders in West Bank, thereby recommitting his nation to a two-state solution that had been somewhat diluted or abandoned under Trump.
Biden will end his West Asia tour in Jeddah, where he is also expected to attend the summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan (known as the GCC+3).
The US President is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts during his visit.
Biden’s meeting with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be the most closely watched of all his bilateral interactions in Jeddah.
He is expected to meet Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is accused by the United States of ordering the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The prince, popularly known as MBS, has denied any involvement in the matter.
The US President has called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state and released an intelligence report on the journalist’s killing which points to the crown prince’s involvement.
Trump, who had forged very strong ties with the Saudi royals, had withheld the report.
Biden had since taking office restricted his communications with the Saudi leadership to the King.
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