Abraham Accords

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Two years ago, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the United States-brokered Abraham Accords. It was a historic moment for our peoples and nations, fostering new hope for peace and prosperity in the Middle East. 

Key Points

• It also brought exciting opportunities for India and its thriving business community, which enjoys strong relations and engagement with our countries.
• The Abraham Accords were a product of collaboration between our nations towards normalisation of ties, bringing Israel closer to the Gulf nations that shared common values and mutual interests, and taking forward the peace initiative.
• It is deepening people-to-people ties and business opportunities.
• New joint ventures are being undertaken in critical sectors such as clean energy, health, innovation, technology, agriculture, water, trade, tourism, sustainability and much more.
• It has worked to produce academic collaborations between our universities, promote cultural exchange in the arts field, and raise awareness about our shared histories and heritage. 
• Ultimately, we aim to further strengthen our mutual understanding and the close friendship between our people.

The I2U2 Group

The Accords have paved the way for greater regional and multinational cooperation. Expanding economic opportunities continue to reach India, and we have already seen major commercial collaborations between companies from the UAE, Israel, Bahrain and the United States with the Indian private sector.

One concrete example of high-level economic cooperation between our governments is the formation of the I2U2 Group, established by Israel, India, the UAE, and the United States.

• I2U2 was initially formed in October, 2021 following the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, to deal with issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure, and transport in the region.
• At that time, it was called the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation’.
• That was referred as the ‘West Asian Quad’.

The project will also greatly benefit the people of India. 

• I2U2 combines the strengths and resources of each member country to find innovative solutions to pressing global challenges and will serve as a model for multilateral cooperation with other like-minded countries.
• India is one of our important partners, and the breadth of our cooperation reflects our mutual interests: 
• Championing a sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, expanding trade, addressing climate change, and combating threats to international security and stability.
• India will get advantage of the Abraham Accords to deepen engagement with Israel without risking its ties with the UAE and the other Arab states.