I2U2 Group: Difference between revisions

Mohammed Soliman, a foreign policy thinker, is regarded as the grand strategist behind the I2U2 for proposing the strategic framework and his advocacy for expanding the format to include more member states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, France, and Greece and ultimately connecting the I2U2 with the Indo-Pacific. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indianarrative.com/opinion-news/meet-mohammed-soliman-the-grand-strategist-behind-the-west-asia-quad-concept-182447.html |title=Meet Mohammed Soliman-- the grand strategist behind the West -Asia Quad concept; India Narrative |website=www.indianarrative.com |date=2021-07-28 |access-date=2022-07-07}}</ref> In an essay for the [[Middle East Institute]], Soliman made the strategic case for a broader "Indo-Abrahamic Alliance" that includes India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States and would expand in the future to include Egypt and Saudi Arabia in order to create a favorable balance of power that maintains peace and security in West Asia. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mei.edu/publications/indo-abrahamic-alliance-rise-how-india-israel-and-uae-are-creating-new-transregional |title=An Indo-Abrahamic alliance on the rise: How India, Israel, and the UAE are creating a new transregional order; The Middle East Institute |website=www.mei.edu |date=2021-07-28 |access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref>[[Raja Mohan]] endorsed Soliman's Indo-Abrahamic concept and how it "can provide a huge fillip to India’s engagement with the extended neighbourhood to the west." <ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-middle-east-relations-israel-uae-abraham-accords-7435298/ |title=Making a case for Indo-Abrahamic accord; The Indian Express |website=indianexpress.com |date=2021-08-03 |access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref> Soliman's strategic concept of the "Indo-Abrahamic alliance" laid the framework for the I2U2 group. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/premium-conversations-decoding-the-politics-of-i2u2-with-mohammed-soliman-101657770196765.html/ |title=Premium Conversations: Decoding the politics of I2U2 with Mohammed Soliman; The Hindustan Times |website=www.hindustantimes.com/ |date=2022-07-14 |access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref> India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States held their first joint meeting virtually in October 2021. At the time, the grouping of the four countries was compared to [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue|The Quad]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-and-the-new-quad-in-west-asia-7578842/|title=India and the new ‘Quad’ in West Asia; The Indian Express|website=www.indianexpress.com/|date=2021-10-20|access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref> The inclusion of the UAE and Israel in a cooperative agreement of this kind was made possible by the [[Abraham Accords]] brokered in August 2020, which normalized relations between the two countries. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2021/10/18/uae-us-israel-and-india-meet-to-boost-four-way-co-operation/|title=UAE, US, Israel and India meet to boost four-way co-operation;The National|website= www.thenationalnews.com|date=2021-10-18|access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref> Soliman intended for his [[Indo-Abrahamic Alliance]] concept to transform West Asia's regional geopolitics and geo-economics and ultimately link the I2U2 Plus group with the [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue|Quad]] to shore up an overarching Asian order. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/a-new-overarching-asian-order-101635339818144.html|title=A new overarching Asian order: With the Indo-Abrahamic bloc, the United States can pivot to East Asia without leaving a vacuum in West Asia; Hindustan Times|website= www.hindustantimes.com|date=2021-10-18|access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref>