Why in news?

The United Arab Emirates will invest $2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India under the framework of the four-nation grouping ‘I2U2’.

Highlights:

• The decision was announced after the leaders of the grouping — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan — held the first virtual summit.
• “India will provide appropriate land for the project and will facilitate farmers’ integration into the food parks. The US and Israeli private sectors will be invited to lend their expertise and offer innovative solutions that contribute to the overall sustainability of the project.
• The investments will help maximise crop yields and, in turn, help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.
• The food parks aimed at cutting down “food waste and spoilage” are a few of the collaborations that the four countries declared after leadership summit that was hosted by Israeli PM Yair Lapid and included UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The I2U2 group will advance hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat consisting of 300 megawatts of wind and solar capacity.
• The leaders also expressed determination to leverage well-established markets to build more innovative, inclusive, and science-based solutions to enhance food security.
• The I2U2 aims to harness the vibrancy of our societies and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle some of the greatest challenges confronting our world.

About I2U2

• The grouping is known as ‘I2U2’ with “I” standing for India and Israel and “U” for the US and the UAE.
• The I2U2 grouping was conceptualised during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held on October 18 last year.

Urgency against backdrop of Ukraine situation

• The focus on food and energy security has acquired urgency in the backdrop of the current military situation in Ukraine that has unleashed cascading negative effects on food, energy and other sectors.