New Delhi, July 15 (Representative) The inaugural I2U2 summit today saw the leaders of India, Israel, the US and UAE agree on a major initiative towards enhancing food security – of Abu Dhabi to invest $2 billion to develop integrated food parks in India, beginning with the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and with the US and Israel to pitch in by way of expertise and innovative solutions. The integrated food corridors would deploy climate smart technology to reduce food wastage and spoilage, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, in a special briefing.India has welcomed the project and will provide facilitation by providing the land. The project is to benefit the small and marginal farmers, according to the Foreign Secretary. The Project has four key connects, maximisation of crop yields, enhancement of Indian farmers’ incomes, contributing overall to food security in South Asia and in this case as extension in the Middle East.
He said the line of effort on the food corridor is to shape it in a manner that benefits the small and marginal farmer. “The proposed food parks have a set of objectives that includes how to reduce trade barriers between I2U2 economies, how to harmonise the food quality and safety standards, how to use the opportunity to benchmark yourself to export the perishables you would grow in this corridor. The corridor would allow access to the strategic markets of the Gulf starting through the UAE,” he said. It will also lead to “significant job creation opportunities in the Indian set up”, he added. The initiative would be an effort governed by the private sectors involving both the countries, he added. He said the initial idea is to put up the parks in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.On the kind of crops to be grown in the parks, he said they would be mainly banana, potato, rice, spices , onions, and the list could be expanded later. The joint statement on the I2U2 summit said that “The UAE – home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and host of COP28 in 2023 – will invest $2 billion USD to develop a series of integrated food parks across India that will incorporate state-of-the-art climate-smart technologies to reduce food waste and spoilage, conserve fresh water, and employ renewable energy sources.
India will provide appropriate land for the project and will facilitate farmers’ integration into the food parks. U.S. and Israeli private sectors will be invited to lend their expertise and offer innovative solutions that contribute to the overall sustainability of the project. These investments will help maximize crop yields and, in turn, help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.” Another key initiative is renewable energy, for which a hybrid renewable energy project would be set up in Dwarka, in Gujarat, consisting of 300 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar capacity complemented by a battery energy storage system.The U.S. Trade and Development Agency funded a feasibility study for the $330 million USD project. “UAE-based companies are exploring opportunities to serve as critical knowledge and investment partners. Israel and the United States intend to work with the UAE and India to highlight private sector opportunities. Indian companies are keen to participate in this project and contribute to India’s goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. Such projects have the potential to make India a global hub for alternate supply chains in the renewable energy sector,” the joint statement said.
The other topics discussed by the leaders was how to modernise infrastructure, including connectivity, how to pursue pathways for low carbon development. “In the fintech sector PM Modi highlighted the importance and doability of expanding the UPI payment system across the I2U2 areas,” the FS said. The key areas discussed were– to modernise infrastructure, pursue pathways for development for industries, improve public health and access to vaccines, advance physical connectivity between the countries in the Middle East region, jointly create new solutions for waste treatment, explore joint financing opportunities, connect start up to I2U2 investments and also look at opportunities in the space of fintech.“These project areas can serve as a model for economic cooperation and also offer opportunities for our businesspersons and workers in this field,” the FS said. He said PM Modi had “frank and very purposeful conversation” with the other I2U2 leaders, US President Joe Biden, Israeli PM Yair Lapid and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on strengthening economic ties in our respective regions and beyond.