New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that leaders participating in the maiden I2U2 Leaders' Virtual Summit have agreed to step up joint investment in six significant areas of water, energy, transportation space, health, and food security, under the I2U2 framework.

Addressing the summit being hosted by Israel, Prime Minister Modi said that the four countries that have come together for the I2U2 summit, have identified joint projects in some areas and prepared a roadmap for moving forward. “This is truly a meeting of strategic partners who are good friends and have commonalities in viewpoint and interests. We have adopted a positive agenda,’’ he said.

Leaders who participated in the four-nation summit are Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid, President of the United Arab Emirates Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyeh, and US President Joe Biden. 

Modi expressed the confidence that "each of the countries can mobilize mutual strengths, capital, expertise, and market to give momentum to our agenda and make a meaningful contribution to the global economy."

“Our cooperative framework is a good model for formal cooperation in the middle of global uncertainties. I am fully confident that we will be able to make a significant contribution in areas of energy, food security and economic growth at the international level.’’

At a special briefing in New Delhi after the summit, Foreign Secretary, Mr Vinay Mohan Kwatra highlighted two joint projects discussed by the leaders. He said that the first project relates to food corridor whereby the UAE intends to invest roughly two USD two billion to develop a series of integrated food corridiors across India which would deploy climate smart technology to reduce food wastage and spoilage, conserve fresh water at the same time and also employ renewable energy sources. He said that India welcomed this project and will provide appropriate facilitation towards its successful operation.The project has four key connects to the people on the ground. One of them of course is maximization of the criop yield, enhancement of the Indian farmers income, contributing overall to the food security in South Asia and in this case as an extension also in the middle east.

He said that the second project is related to renewable energy. " The I2U2 will advance a hybrid renewable project in Dwarka, Gujarat, consisting of 300 mega watts of wind and solar capacity complemented by a battery energy storage system. The USTDA has already funded a feasibility study for this project which is roughly the quantum of USD 330 million.

The Foreign Secretary told mediapersons that Prime Minister Modi had frank and purposeful conversation with the other I2U2 leaders during the summit on strengthening economic ties in our respective regions and beyond. He said that the I2U2 summit had a very positve, constructive and even tangible agenda which included discussions on promoting specific joint projdects and also discussions on common sectoral areas for the benefit of our respective countries as also for our regions. 

Mr Kwatra said that the I2U2 was conceptualised during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held in October, 2021." Through this grouping, the intention principally is to mobilize the private sector capital and deployed for many areas of economic cooperation. He said that India has strategic partnership with each of the four I2U2 countries and India's role in this grouping will be pivotal.

Replying to questions, the Foreign Secretary said, " We would expect such summits to take place at reguar periodicity given in particular the nature of agenda of cooperation which is very robust and very extensive and given that we have started only just now. We would expect the periodicity to be frequent but frequency is something which will get decided as we go along,''

He said that the proposed food parks are expected to be taken up in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.