INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A multinational rail and ports deal linking the Middle East and South Asia will be announced on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit
in New Delhi, a White House official said.The pact comes at a critical time as United States President Joe Biden seeks to counter China&s
Belt and Road push on global infrastructure by pitching Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries at the
G20 grouping, Reuters reported.The deal will benefit low and middle-income countries in the region, and enable a critical role for the
Middle East in global commerce, Jon Finer, the United States deputy national security adviser, told reporters at the bloc&s annual summit
in New Delhi.It aims to link Middle East countries by railway and connect them to India by port, helping the flow of energy and trade from
the Gulf to Europe, United States officials have said, by cutting shipping times, costs and fuel use.A memorandum of understanding for the
deal will be signed by the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and other G20 partners, Finer
said.Linking these key regions, we think, is a huge opportunity,& said Finer
No immediate details of the value of the deal were available.The move comes amid United States efforts for a broader diplomatic deal in the
Middle East that would have Saudi Arabia recognise Israel.From the United States viewpoint, Finer added, the deal helps ''turn the
temperature down across the region& and &address a conflict where we see it&.The post US, India, Saudi, EU to unveil rail, ports deal on G20
sidelines first appeared on Ariana News.
