PM Modi, US President Biden to attend I2U2 virtual summit next week - Details

The meeting will also be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and will take place during the POTUS' visit to the region from July 13 to 16.

TN National Desk

Updated Jun 15, 2022, 07:24 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden hold bilateral talks in Tokyo | Representational image

Photo : ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden are set to attend a first-of-its-kind virtual summit called I2-U2 next month for discussions of the food security crisis and other areas of cooperation. The meeting will also be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and will take place during the POTUS' visit to the region from July 13 to 16.

According to an update shared by the White House, the four leaders will discuss "the food security crisis and other areas of cooperation across hemispheres where the UAE and Israel serve as important innovation hubs". It will be the highest-level gathering of the forum to date.

Biden's visit will also focus on Israel's increasing integration into the region, both through the Abraham Accords with the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain; through deepening ties between Israel, Jordan and Egypt; and also entirely new groupings of partners, including Israel, India, the UAE, and the United States -- what they call I2U2, said the official.

Biden is slated to visit the Middle East region from July 13 to July 16 with stops in Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia, and engagements with nearly a dozen counterparts from across the region and beyond. This incidentally is a dramatic change in his stance on the kingdom that he pledged to make a "pariah" as a Democratic election candidate.

The stop in Saudi Arabia will include talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the kingdom, according to White House and Saudi officials. US intelligence officials have determined Prince Mohammed likely ordered the 2018 killing of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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