Biden announces new shipping, rail and technology project that would include India, Europe, Saudi Arabia AND Israel: President hails ‘big deal’ and shakes hands with MBS after botching Saudi Crown Prince’s name

The White House and leaders of India, Europe and the Middle East were expected to announce agreement on Saturday on a plan that would establish rail, shipping and technology corridors aimed at connecting regional economies with the prospect of bringing greater stability to the turbulent Middle East. East.

The plan is to more closely connect regional economies through infrastructure, financing and transit, creating new “corridors” that Whites are calling a “pioneering” effort to connect with far-flung regional economies.

The project includes a new rail transport corridor that would span the US, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan and the European Union – although it is not exactly ‘shovel ready’ yet, with leaders only a ‘shovel ready’ will announce. memorandum of understanding’ about it.

Part of the plan would require the U.S. and Europe to support a commitment by African countries Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to develop a rail corridor.

‘This is a big part. This is a really big problem,” President Biden said, paraphrasing his own praise for the passage of Obamacare, but this time he left out the expletive.

Biden specifically thanked MBS, though he messed up his name twice before continuing.

“Mohammed bin Sa-lum – excuse me, Mohammed bin Sal-am,” he said, almost checking Mohamed bin Salman’s name.

The nations commit to restoring the corridors between the Middle East and Europe, and between the Middle East and India.

“We are laying a strong foundation for a developed India,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an event touting the initiative.

He was flanked by President Joe Biden on his right and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his left.

Better connecting India to Europe via rail and “existing ports via the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel” will generate economic growth while encouraging new investments and high-quality job creation, a White House fact sheet said.

Other regional projects would build cable to increase internet speeds between regions.

It’s part of what White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan described as an effort to create “one seamlessly integrated economic corridor.”

This includes hard infrastructure such as shipping and railway lines, but also other economic and technical connections.

It would run from India to Europe, via the (United Arab Emirates), Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel in a manner that will generate economic growth, create incentives for new investment and advanced regional integration and throughout the Middle East, and also connect India all the way to Europe,” said Sullivan.

The deal stemmed in part from talks between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (seen here hugging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and White House national security officials this year. The White House did not say earlier Saturday whether Biden would meet with the controversial figure

He said this would be done “in a way that will not only make the transportation of goods more efficient, but also increase cooperation in energy and digital connectivity.”

‘We think this is a big problem, an important moment. And a milestone has already been reached in an effort that is already underway,” Sullivan told reporters.

The White House is selling it as an economic effort that could have yielded political benefits.

National Security Council official John Finer told reporters passing through New Delhi on Saturday that this could help lower temperatures due to the “turbulence and insecurity” coming from the Middle East.

“It will be a clear demonstration of a new model that President Biden has pioneered for more transparent and sustainably sustainable development, high-quality, sustainable infrastructure that fills a damaged gap and enables greater prosperity and better connectivity for key regions across the world.” world,” he said. .

It is yet another economic project that arises at a time when China wants to use its military and economic power to exert its own influence around the world. China attended the G20, but President Xi Jinping did not show up.

President Joe Biden greeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at the start of the G20 meetings. Leaders will announce a new rail and shipping corridor that would include India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries

Biden is expected to make the announcement on Saturday afternoon – at an event that could put him in close association with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who infamously fist bumped Biden during a trip to Saudi Arabia last year.

Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plan to announce the project as part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment. The rail and shipping corridor would allow greater trade between the countries, including energy products. It could also be one of the more ambitious counterparts to China’s own Belt and Road initiative, which aimed to connect more of the world to that country’s economy.

Finer laid out three main reasons for the project in a phone call with reporters. He first said the corridor would increase prosperity between the countries involved by increasing the flow of energy and digital communications. Second, the project would help address the lack of infrastructure needed for growth in lower and middle-income countries. And third, Finer said it could help “turn the temperature down” on the “turbulence and insecurity” coming from the Middle East.

“We see that this has great appeal in the countries involved, and also globally, because it is transparent, because it is a high standard, because it is not coercive,” Finer said.

Finer also laid out Biden’s agenda at the G20. The first part of the summit revolves around the theme ‘One Earth’. The US president plans to use this theme to push for more investments to tackle climate change, such as his own domestic incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy. Biden also wants to emphasize that Russia’s war in Ukraine is hurting many other countries, which have faced higher food and energy costs and higher interest costs on their debt.

The second part of the summit is about ‘One Family’. Biden plans to use this section to discuss his request to Congress for additional funding for the World Bank, which could generate more than $25 billion in new economic development loans.

The White House is more broadly trying to strengthen the G20 as an international forum, while Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have chosen not to attend. Still, China and Russia are represented at the summit and that could make it difficult for the G20 to make a joint statement on the war in Ukraine, Finer said.