Economy on table at Modi-Biden meet

New Delhi, July 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually participate in the first summit of the ‘I2U2’ grouping on Thursday along with US President Joe Biden, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israel PM Yair Lapid.

The leaders will discuss joint economic projects to bolster cooperation in the area of trade and investment.

Called the ‘West Asia Quad’, it was conceptualised during the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the four countries on October 18, 2021. The ‘I2U2’ also has sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss possible areas of cooperation, said the Ministry of External Affairs.

The group will create “new frameworks that aim to harness unique American capabilities to enable partners to work more closely together,” said a US statement. — TNS

Rise in inflation Focus of I2U2 summit

• The focus of the ‘I2U2’ in the long term will be on joint projects and ways to strengthen economic partnership
• This time, post-Covid supply chain disruption and rise in inflation due to Ukraine war will be the focus