The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, met with the national security advisers of the United States, India, and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to discuss ways to increase Indias involvement in the area and the United States response to Chinas growing influence in the Middle East.Primary attendees included US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The meeting was held in Saudi Arabia after China brokered a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran on March 10 to improve the “shared goal of creating a secure and more prosperous Middle East region interconnected with India and the world.” The meetings specifics were not made public by India, but US NSA Sullivan and NSA Doval held a separate meeting to discuss their February 1 decisions and are scheduled to meet again on May 24 at the QUAD summit in Sydney, Australia. In an effort to mend the broken ties between the United States and the Sunni world, the US NSA also held private sessions with his Saudi and UAE counterparts.Other significant results in the Saudi meetingIn order to acquire the most advanced technology from US corporations for PM Narendra Modis “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra plans to have the first-ever discussion on strategic trade with his US colleagues on May 11 and 12. This comes ahead of the QUAD summit. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval (Image: Twitter)According to the US summary of the Saudi Arabian meeting, Crown Prince Salman and NSA Sullivan discussed the development of the Yemen ceasefire. Furthermore, the four delegations agreed to keep frequent meetings and subsequent follow-ups on the issues discussed and choices taken at the meeting. Sullivan and Doval both conveyed gratitude to the Crown Prince for rescuing their citizens from war-torn Sudan. NSA Doval and his counterpart had private conversations in Iran before travelling to Saudi Arabia.Rail link plan for West Asia and South AsiaAjit Doval also discussed a plan backed by the White House to connect West Asian (Middle East) nations by rail using Indian expertise and to connect the region to South Asia via sea routes. At the meeting, the participants were expected to go over the broad strokes of a massive joint project to build railway, maritime, and road connectivity in the larger region, connecting the Indian subcontinent in South Asia to West Asia.India is eager to take part in the project because it satisfies three key goals. In the first place, it will enable quicker crude transportation, which will lower Indias prices over time and benefit the eight million Indian citizens who reside and work in the Gulf countries. Second, the project will assist India in establishing a reputation as a leader in the construction of railway infrastructure. Finally, the project will oppose Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, which has saddled many countries in the region with obsolete infrastructure. The United States, which suggested the Blue Dot network, is one of the components in the development of a financially sustainable and feasible connection project. The idea for the new project arose after discussions held over the last 18 months in a conference known as I2U2, which comprises the US, Israel, the UAE, and India.
