US hails India's 'massive consumer market'; says 'can work together in a number of areas'

Hailing India as the “massive consumer market”, United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that “there are a number of areas” where New Delhi and Washington can work together in. During a press briefing on Monday, Price also lauded India's massive production of “high-tech and highly sought-after goods”. The US State Department spokesperson’s remarks came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to participate in a virtual summit of the West Asia quadrilateral economic forum - I2-U2, comprising India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States. 

“India is a massive consumer market and a massive producer of high-tech and highly sought-after goods as well. There are a number of areas where these countries can work together,” Ned Price said. 

Meanwhile, for the I2-U2 summit, PM Modi will be joining US President Joe Biden, Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and UAE's President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

The four nations decided to launch the 'new QUAD' as External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar joined his counterparts at a meeting through a video link from Jerusalem. The launch of the 'new QUAD' will take place on Biden’s maiden trip to the Middle East where he will visit Israel, West Bank and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the I2-U2 virtual summit alongside other leaders. 

It is important to mention here that the upcoming virtual meeting involving PM Modi would be the highest-level gathering of the forum to date. The US officials have said that the leaders would discuss "the food security crisis and other areas of cooperation across hemispheres where the UAE and Israel serve as important innovation hubs”.

‘These initiatives central to our strategy’: US

The summit will be called ‘I2U2’ as the names of India and Israel begin with the letter “I” and UAE, US begin with “U”. In an official statement, the White House said, "We consider these initiatives central to our strategy of empowering partners and encouraging them to work more closely together, which will lead to a more stable region and also to Israel’s security and prosperity over the longer term. US State Secretary Antony Blinken, just last month in the Negev, in southern Israel, met with counterparts from Abraham Accord partners UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, together with Jordan and Egypt, highlighting these deepening regional partnerships."

(Image: AP/PIB)