• Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and his counterparts from Israel, the US and the UAE have agreed to establish a forum for economic cooperation at a meeting. 

• Jaishankar, who is currently on a five-day visit to Israel, was accompanied by his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, during the meeting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan participated virtually as the four leaders also exchanged views on shared issues of concern in the region.

• The four ministers held a discussion on possibilities for joint infrastructure projects in the fields of transportation, technology, maritime security, and economics and trade, as well as for additional joint projects.

• It was decided that each minister will appoint senior-level professionals to a joint working group that will formulate options for cooperation in the areas identified by the ministers.

The Abraham Accord

• In August 2020, Israel, the UAE and the US signed the Abraham Accord. The accord helped Israel and the UAE normalise their ties.

• The Biden administration has supported the Abraham Accord and normalisation agreements. 

• India had welcomed the agreement, saying “it has always supported peace and stability in West Asia which is our extended neighbourhood."

• Reports have indicated a new Quad post the Abraham accords being inked last year.

• This year, in July, the UAE formally opened its embassy in Israel, inaugurating its diplomatic offices in Tel Aviv less than a year after the two countries announced they would establish open relations.

A move to counter China?

• The China-Israel relationship has become much deeper in the past few decades. 

• Last month, Israel opened the $1.7 billion Bay Port at Haifa, alongside its Mediterranean coast, which will be operated by Shanghai Worldwide Port Group (SIPG). 

• The UAE too has warm relations with Beijing. China is one of the top traders with the UAE and wants to expand its military trade with the region.

• Experts say that the US wants to bring everyone together under one umbrella.

India-Israel relations

• India and Israel are strategic partners. India announced its recognition of Israel on September 17, 1950.

• Regular embassies were opened in 1992 when full diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. 

• India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a ‘Strategic Partnership’ during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017. 

• Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the 'Make in India' initiative.

• India is Israel’s third-largest trade partner in Asia and seventh largest globally. In recent years, bilateral trade has diversified into several sectors such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, water, IT and telecom.

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