In a major development, India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the EU, and the United States will sign an agreement for the mega project including rail, electricity and hydrogen pipeline on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
The main aim of the rail project is to connect the Middle East with India and Europe and bypass China's wide-ranging strategic infrastructure investments, a US official said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.
If the deal is finalised, it would be a significant breakthrough in the relations between New Delhi, the Middle East, the United States and the European Union amid the fact these nations amount to major exports to the developing nations besides China.
Beijing owns a significant chunk of exports to Asian countries as it has one of the most efficient supply routes. Despite the current data claims that Beijing's exports have dwindled for the fourth month in a row, developing nations are very much dependent on its products.
Earlier on Friday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden held a bilateral meeting at the latter's official residence, both leaders vowed to improve the connectivity and infrastructure.
Why it is considered as significant development?
Although there weren't specifically mentioned about the trilateral agreement, it was expected that the leaders had held extensive talks on the agreement.
Moreover, Washington is also trying to provide an alternative to China's Belt and Road initiative-- a project that experts opined meant to extend Chinese economic and political influence among low-income countries.
If the project is finalised, it would be a major blow to the "Chinese debt trap" scheme. It is worth mentioning that for decades China has been using its economic capability to provide loans to the vulnerable nations- which are either collapsed or on the brink of collapse. Subsequently, it seeks important infrastructure from the impacted nations which it uses to establish strategic bases for its forces.
