Israel is trying ahead to advertise the brand new I2U2 initiative, a brand new grouping of India, Israel, USA and UAE, mentioned Eynat Shlein, head of MASHAV, Israeli company for worldwide improvement cooperation on Thursday. In the grouping’s identify, ‘I2’ stands for India and Israel, whereas ‘U2’ stands for USA and the UAE.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Shlein mentioned, “The fact that the two close strategic partners of Israel — US and India — chose to become a part of this cooperation, of this new initiative, tells you the significance of this initiative.”
“We are really looking forward to promote this new initiative,” Shlein mentioned.
As a part of the I2U2 initiative, US President Joe Biden will maintain a digital summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan throughout his go to to West Asia from July 13 to 16.
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Responding to a question about “I2U2”, Shlein mentioned, “MASHAV is of course very interested in this initiative as the entire government of Israel is. I think, this is a great achievement which tells you the geopolitical changes that happen in the region.”
Discussing India-Israel relationship, Shlein mentioned that the 2 international locations noticed “ups and downs” previously however “that time has passed and now interests are one”.
“So, this is also a part of the regional or even global change in the way we do things…in the past, you would only have very close partnerships of this kind with your immediate neighbours. Now, that we’re in a digital world…you could do wonderful things together and really fully utilise the benefit that each country has to offer. And in this regard, we are really looking forward to promote this new initiative,” she mentioned.
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“And specifically, as we speak of MASHAV…I think there’s a lot of potential we are definitely going to be involved, and we’re still at the leadership level, but once it starts dwelling into action items, we stand ready to be there,” Shlein mentioned.
Asked how can the I2U2 nations cooperate on the difficulty of meals safety, Shlein mentioned, “They can do a lot…I mean, the first of all, it’s about involvement in development projects. It’s about creativity and budgets. And it’s about building alliances.”
“In order to succeed in the quest for food security, you need lots of partners, you need to build alliances — political alliances, social alliances,” she mentioned.
On a query on India’s ban on wheat export, Shlein mentioned, “There needs to be a balance between domestic interests and foreign interests and obviously the state of Israel does not interfere in the domestic decisions of any government, we feel the need to promote food security.”
Discussing Indo-Israel cooperation within the water and agriculture sectors, Shlein mentioned that 13 extra centres of excellence will come up below the Indo-Israel Agriculture Project within the nation by early subsequent 12 months, which can improve the quantity to 42.
