UAE to invest $2 billion for integrated food parks in India

NEW DELHI: Under the framework of the four-nation grouping ‘I2U2’, the United Arab Emirates will invest USD 2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India. The grouping is known as ‘I2U2’ because ‘I’ stands for India and Israel and ‘U’ stands for United States of America and UAE. This grouping was conceptualized last year on October 18, during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four said nations. 

The decision was announced after the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, American President Joe Biden, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid held the first virtual summit on July 14. A joint statement said that that the meeting of the I2U2 leaders focused on food security crisis, clean energy, and discussing innovative ways to ensure longer-term, more diversified food delivery systems.

According to the joint statement from nations, India will provide land for the project and will also facilitate integration of farmers into the food parks. Private sectors from USA and Israel will be invited to lend their expertise and offer innovative solutions to contribute to the overall sustainability of the project. The investments and the project will help maximise crop yields, which in turn will help tackle food insecurity in south Asia and the Middle East. The statement from the grouping also informed that I2U2 will work to 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, science-based, and inclusive solutions to enhance food security.