New Delhi: The national security advisors of India, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, as well as Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, convened in Riyadh on Sunday, May 7, and discussed ways to have a West Asia which is more “interconnected” with the Indian subcontinent.The Indian NSA, Ajit Doval, was part of a trio of top national security officials from the US and UAE that called on the Saudi Crown Prince on Sunday evening.The Saudi state news agency said on Monday, May 8, that they discussed “means to strengthen relations and ties between the three countries in a way that enhances growth and stability in the region”.The four nation-meeting is significant as it comes soon after China made a splash in the diplomatic marketplace of the Middle East by restoring ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The ripples from the Iran-Saudi agreement can be felt from the return of Syria to the Arab League and the consolidation of peace talks in Yemen. The White House issued a statement that NSA Jake Sullivan met with Saudi crown prince, and his Emirati and Indian counterparts in Riyadh to “advance their shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region interconnected with India and the world”. Sullivan also stated, as per the communique, that he looked forward to hold further consultations with Doval on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Australia this month.There were no further details of the meeting. No separate readouts were issued publicly by the Indian and UAE authorities.The White House’s statement of an “interconnected” region was notable as a US news website had reported a day earlier that the meeting was about a major infrastructure project. Axios wrote that the top security officials of the four countries would discuss a project that will be a “network of railways” to connect the Gulf with India via shipping lanes from ports.According to the US media group, the project is a key initiative that the White House wants to back as China’s influence in the region grows.Ahead of the meeting, Sullivan had talked about this meeting in a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy last week. He said that his meetings would discuss “new areas of cooperation between New Delhi and the Gulf as well as the United States and the rest of the region, fuelled in part by the comprehensive economic partnership signed last year between India and the UAE”. He added that this would help “carry forward some very tangible initiatives that we think will be unlike anything that we have seen in the region in recent years”.According to Axios, the idea for the railway project germinated in the I2U2 forum, which includes Israel, India, the US, and UAE. Saudi Arabia does not have formal ties with Israel.Incidentally, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is arriving in India for a three-day visit from May 9 to 11.
