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G20 Summit: US, India, UAE, Saudi to finalise Middle-East shipping, railway deal

WOW

Even the Russians welcome it and want to make use of it.
 
Why is everybody skipping Jordan here are they even onboard with this plan and have the political stability to execute this route
 
Russia has nothing the UAE and SA needs. They have their own oil and gas.
True.
Having said that what does Russia have to trade besides oil and gas with the rest of the whole world
Sadly, this is the current state of affairs'
 
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India, the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Europe are set to unveil an unprecedented and groundbreaking infrastructure initiative of a railway and shipping corridor that will enhance commerce, energy and digital connectivity on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, US principal deputy national security advisor Jon Finer has said.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday morning, Finer said that the project will fill a major infrastructure gap and will be “high-standards, transparent, sustainable, non-coercive” and based on the demand signal from the region instead of being an imposition, drawing an indirect but sharp contrast with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

BRI is widely criticised for locking countries into unsustainable debts, being non-transparent, coercive, and compromising standards.

Finer said that the initiative fits in with the Joe Biden administration’s larger strategy in West Asia.

Laying out the strategic case for the project, he said that there was first a “value proposition” of a corridor linking three regions of the world as it would enhance prosperity.

Second, it filled a broader infrastructure gap in low and middle-income countries, with the US doing what it can with partners and allies to fill the gap. Third, he said that for the Middle East, “which has been a net exporter of turbulence and insecurity,” the project was a major opportunity in line with the American efforts to “reduce the temperature and enhance connectivity”.

While the project has not been implemented under the I2U2 framework (which includes India, Israel, UAE, and US), most likely because the efforts at normalisation between Israel and Saudi are still a work in progress, officials believe that Israel will be an obvious partner in the project if and when there are formal diplomatic ties between Tel Aviv and Riyadh. On a question on Israel’s participation, Finer said he will let countries speak for themselves.

“We have an approach focused on turning the temperature down, de-escalating conflicts underway in the region, and incentivising stability and connectivity in the region. The railway and shipping project is wholly in line with that,” Finer said.

Asked about the contrast with BRI, Finer claimed that while he understood the appeal of that narrative, the US saw the infra project as a “positive affirmative agenda” that had appeal in countries.

"This is not zero-sum, we are not asking countries to make zero-sum choices, it is a high-value proposition,” he said. But, he added that other efforts were not as “ambitious, high standard, and transparent” and were “more coercive” in nature. “We feel good about the contrast,” added Finer.


Most of big infrastructure projects promised by the West nowadays are just empty words. They have no skills, no technology to do such large projects without sub-contracting, at least partially to China, which is not acceptable to them. If contracted to Western contractors, the project will cost at least twice to ten times in capital investment and take twice or three times the schedule, provided that they have the technology and know-how to do such projects, and lower quality.

Even Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, had to employ Chinese contractors for their largest sea bridge (completed some years ago), which obviously European and American contractors were not capable. Same for the Brazil's South America largest sea bridge under president Bonosaro, who hated China to the core but still had to sign deal with Chinese contractors.
 
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As you know, there was a Ben Gorion canal project in Israel, which has been on the agenda during some governments in the past and has been evaluated several times with different routes, but for different reasons, it has never materialised.

In the past, many Israeli politicians and bureaucrats made many statements linking this project with Israel's geopolitical position and future.

If Israel were to have this canal, it would be a real alternative to the Suez canal, as it seems that the Gaza Strip is now completely isolated (UN can't even open its mouth about it, the whole world is just watching what is happening, just like what nazis did to jews decades ago) and Israel has the infrastructure to overcome various security risks.

However, the fact that this route starts from the UAE, the farthest end of the Arabian Peninsula, which will only extend the route, indirectly shows that the UAE and KSA are the financiers of this US strategy.

In its current form, the project cannot compete with the Suez canal in terms of cost. In terms of shipping times, the situation is much more handicapped. The goods will be loaded twice until they reach Europe. Even if we consider this project from the point of view of diversification of logistics alternatives, I do not see this project as feasible. However, since Arab countries will finance it, it seems to be an attempt worth trying for the USA and India.
 
Why is everybody skipping Jordan here are they even onboard with this plan and have the political stability to execute this route

Jordan is exceptionally stable by ME standards. Jordan will do what US and SA want. After all Jordan would be a gainer with this route. It is in the signed memorandum
 
Most of big infrastructure projects promised by the West nowadays are just empty words. They have no skills, no technology to do such large projects without sub-contracting, at least partially to China, which is not acceptable to them. If contracted to Western contractors, the project will cost at least twice to ten times in capital investment and take twice or three times the schedule, provided that they have the technology and know-how to do such projects, and lower quality.

Even Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, had to employ Chinese contractors for their largest sea bridge (completed some years ago), which obviously European and American contractors were not capable. Same for the Brazil's South America largest sea bridge under president Bonosaro, who hated China to the core but still had to sign deal with Chinese contractors.
I was mentioning same thing other day

It’s just another bs smoke and mirror infra projects

West has limited capacity and cost is too much for any one to bear.

It’s just hilarious how much hype these projects create and nothing will change in ground.
 
If Israel were to have this canal, it would be a real alternative to the Suez canal, as it seems that the Gaza Strip is now completely isolated (UN can't even open its mouth about it, the whole world is just watching what is happening, just like what nazis did to jews decades ago) and Israel has the infrastructure to overcome various security risks.
If we dig this canal, we might as well dig it around Gaza, make it an island and push it the **** away from us lol

If we did to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to us, there would be no Palestinians.
 
The main part of this route is linking Israel-Jordan-Saudi Arabia-UAE ......... Rest is only top-ups.
 

The more private industry gets involved in running (and profiting from) this route, the better chance it has of both happening and running efficiently. While infrastructure building companies might be out to profit from the Billions that the UAE and KSA are apparently willing to throw at this project, it's the logistics, fright and import/export companies that will determine of it is profitable and thus sustainable. The fact that Adani for instance is positioning himself to be a key player in this IMEC, raises the chances that it will happen, happen sooner rather than later and will run efficiently once it is up.
 

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