Biden hails India-UAE food corridor initiative at I2U2 summit
Jul 14, 2022
Washington [US], July 14 : Hailing the food corridor initiative between India and the United Arab Emirates, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that with the support of the American and Israeli private sector, New Delhi has the potential to sustainably increase the country's food yields in the region three-fold in just five years.
The I2U2 Group in a joint statement Thursday announced that they will invest USD 2 billion in India to develop a series of integrated agriculture parks across the country.
"The UAE's investment to develop integrated agricultural parks across India with the support of the American and Israeli private sector experts has the potential to sustainably increase India's food yields in the region three-fold in just five years. India is a major, major food producer in the world. Think of the beneficial impacts this will have on India's farmers and the people suffering from hunger and malnutrition in the region," Biden said.
The heads of the four countries attended the meeting. The leaders include Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid called the food corridor initiative between India and the United Arab Emirates a "clear example of a creative solution" to the global problem.
"An initiative like the food corridor between India and the UAE, which was put together by this group, is a clear example of a creative solution to a problem we're all -- we are all facing. The fast transportation of food and preservation technologies, the ability to connect relative advantages together -- this is the solution to the problem," he said in the statement.
Asserting about solar energy, the Israeli Prime Minister said: "...the idea is to make the most of technological capabilities, some of which are still being developed, in order to deal with an energy market that is facing a serious crisis."
"Since the war in Ukraine broke out, each one of us has had to deal with the crisis on the local level. Its effects on cost of living have been immediate and dramatic. And, of course, this has political implications. Real solutions will only come through cooperation between countries that know how to put together brainpower, knowledge, and resources on the same table," he added.
The virtual summit of India, Israel, UAE, and the USA dubbed "I2U2" is projected as the Quad for West Asia. I2U2 aims to encourage joint investments in six mutually identified areas such as water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security.
