Inaugural meeting of I2U2 business forum held in Abu Dhabi

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

The first conference of I2U2 Business Forum, a joint initiative of India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates, was held on 22 February 2023 in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

An overview of the news

• According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the I2U2 Forum brought together representatives from the private and public sectors of India, Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates to discuss opportunities for cooperation between their business communities.

• This is the first such event after its official launch at the I2U2 Leaders' Summit in July 2022.

• Economic cooperation is going on in many areas among the member countries of I2U2. Which includes food security, water, energy, space, transport, health and technology.

• The Forum aims to leverage private sector capital and expertise to help modernise infrastructure, decarbonize industries, improve public health, and promote the development of green technologies.

• It is also known as the 'West Asian Quad' as it was referred to as the 'International Forum for Economic Cooperation' in 2021.

• I2U2 aims to encourage joint investments in six mutually identified sectors – water, energy, transport, space, health and food security.

• India and the US are already members of the QUAD and India has individual bilateral defence cooperation with each country. 

• Now I2U2 is set to boost trade and connectivity between partners.