NSA Ajit Doval in secret talks in Saudi Arabia to shape a counter to China

India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has met his American counterpart Jake Sullivan and those from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to discuss an ambitious infrastructure project that will counter China's efforts to expand its footprint through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The four leaders had a meeting in Saudi Arabia yesterday. Doval and Sullivan will meet again later this month on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Australia.

The exact details of the meeting were not revealed, though in an anodyne statement yesterday, the White House said, "National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval on May 7 in Saudi Arabia to advance their shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region interconnected with India and the world."


An American news website had revealed that an ambitious infrastructure project was on the agenda of the meeting.

US, Saudi, Emirati and Indian national security advisers were expected to discuss a possible major joint infrastructure project to connect Gulf and Arab countries via a network of railways that would also be connected to India via shipping lanes from ports in the region, Axios reported later last week, citing sources with direct knowledge of the plan.

Why is this infrastructure project important?
The idea is to link Arab countries with a vast railway network which would connect through seaports with India. The project will leverage India's expertise in building railway networks. This will not only boost trade between West and South Asia but also serve as a counter to China's BRI which is a sprawling network of rail, road and sea routes which connect dozens of countries in several continents to China. thus giving China opportunities to trade with BRI countries as well as advance its strategic and diplomatic agendas.

The new initiative came up during talks that were held over the last 18 months in another forum called I2U2, which includes the U.S., Israel, the UAE and India. The forum was established in late 2021 to discuss strategic infrastructure projects in the Middle East. “Nobody said it out loud but it was about China from day one," a former senior Israeli official who was directly involved in early discussions on the issue told Axios. Israel raised the idea of connecting the region through railways during the I2U2 meetings over the last year. Part of the idea was to use India’s expertise on such big infrastructure projects.

China has stepped up its cooperation with West Asia, particularly with Iraq, since the unveiling of the BRI. Iraq's strategic location and its trade through the Persian Gulf make it a crucial point in China's BRI. China's insatiable hunger for energy resources places a high priority on importing energy from West Asia. China is pushing hard to expand its footprints across the West Asia North Africa region riding on the atmosphere created by the Saudi-Iran deal that was brokered by it. There has been a flurry of visits from China across the region since the deal was concluded.

Sullivan hinted at this initiative during his speech on Thursday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy: “If you remember nothing else from my speech, remember I2U2, because you will be hearing more about it as we go forward," he said. Sullivan added the fundamental notion is to connect South Asia to the Middle East to the U.S. “in ways that advance our economic technology and diplomacy."

"A more integrated, interconnected Middle East empowers our allies and partners, advances regional peace and prosperity, and reduces the resource demands on the U.S. in this region over the long term without sacrificing our fundamental interests or our involvement in the region," he said.

India's partnership in this project will help the country achieve better connectivity and cheaper transport costs with a region where a large number of Indian immigrants go to work and from where India usually imports most of its oil. It will also boost India's reputation as a global builder of infrastructure because India is supposed to construct the railway routes. Increased connectivity and economic cooperation with the countries in West Asia will also strengthen India's diplomatic ties with those countries and open up prospects for cooperation in other areas too.

At a later stage, Axios reported, Israel too can be invited to join this project.

(WIth inputs from agencies)