The foreign Ministers of India, Israel, and UAE along with the US secretary of State on 18 October met virtually leading to huge speculations of the formation of a new Quadrilateral or Quad group.?
Israel in the last couple of years has built some serious engagements with many Middle Eastern countries and India already has good relations with most of them. Such coordination between an important gulf country, Israel, and the US can prove to be a game-changer in the political and economic relations within and outside the region.?
Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishanker, who was in Israel, together with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid held a video conference with the US state secretary Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan.?
Meeting followed discussions on the future engagement in the fields of transportation, technology, maritime security, economics, and trade. By the end of the meeting, a decision was taken to launch an international forum for economic cooperation to harness the unique array of capabilities, knowledge, and experience of four nations.?
It is particularly this decision that is leading to speculation regarding the formation of a new quadrilateral group among these members. If this happens, this could lead to greater cooperation among these influential countries in the region.?
India and the US along with Australia and Japan are already part of another Quad group.
Jaishanker in his tweet while terming the conference a ¡®fruitful first meeting¡¯ said, ¡°Discussed working together more closely on economic growth and global issues. Agreed on expeditious follow up."?
The spokesperson of the US state department regarding the meeting said that the countries discussed, ¡°Expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and including maritime security."
India already has pretty good relations with Israel and UAE. Israel is one of the largest suppliers of military hardware to India, while UAE has been India¡¯s important trading and energy partner.?Politically both countries have been supportive of India globally. Israel and India have time and again expressed their support for each other in some crucial issues.?
And sam has been the case with UAE, which stood by India especially post August 5, 2019, when Pakistan viciously campaigned against India especially in the Muslim world. UAE even facilitated the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement. The US on the other hand has good relations with all three nations.?
Israel and UAE last year normalised their relationship with Israel after almost six decades of the constant polity of declining to recognise Israel. Since then both countries have quickly developed relations, from opening their embassies to developing bilateral relations and even trade.
While such an arrangement can surely prove beneficial for all three countries in terms of economics, many are looking at this potential second Quad with a world political prism. The already existing quad is already being seen as a counter to the rising power and influence of China.?
Many are speculating some China factor being behind this new Quad. The US and India are considered at the vanguard against rising Chinese influence. With Chinese influence increasing in Asia and some parts of Middle Eastern Asia, such a new group with India and US will raise the speculations of it being pitched against China.?
The other important aspect that will be debated with regards to this group will be Iran. Iran does not have even normal relations with Israel, the US, and UAE. On the other hand, India does not fall on the same line with regards to China, with it having nice relations with the Persian Country.?
While speculations of the group being anti-Iran might come up, it would be crucial to see how India balances its relations with group partners and Iran.