India, Israel, US and UAE plan quad for infrastructure development

Jaishankar, who is currently on five-day visit to Israel, was accompanied by his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, during virtual meeting on Monday. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan participated as the four leaders also exchanged views on shared issues of concern in the region.

“The ministers decided to establish an international forum for economic cooperation, said a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after the meeting. It said the four ministers held a discussion on possibilities for joint infrastructure projects in the fields of transportation, technology, maritime security, and economics and trade, as well as for additional joint projects.

At the end of the conversation, it was decided that each minister will appoint senior-level professionals to a joint working group that will formulate options for cooperation in the areas identified by the ministers, the statement said. The intention is to hold an in-person meeting of the ministers in the coming months at Expo 2020 in Dubai, the statement said.

Jaishankar described the meeting as fruitful. “I think it is very clear that on the big issues of our times we all think very similarly and what would be helpful would be if we could agree on some practical things to work upon,” he said.