Biden talks joint investment with Israel, India, UAE

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: US President Joe Biden held joint investment talks Thursday with Israel, India and the United Arab Emirates, as Washington seeks to counter the global reach of China.

The multilateral summit was convened in al-Quds where Biden is on his first Middle East tour as president, with leaders from India and the UAE joining remotely. During the summit the UAE announced it would invest 2 million euros (dollars) in agricultural projects in India, which will supply the land.

Private firms from Israel and the US will be invited to also finance the scheme. An Indian solar and wind energy project was also discussed in al-Quds. Biden joined the summit before speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, during which the president said he wants to secure US interests in the Middle East.

"I want to make clear that we can continue to lead in the region and not create a vacuum, a vacuum that is filled by China, and or Russia, against the interest of both Israel and the United States, and many other countries," Biden said.

The president departs for Saudi Arabia on Friday (today), following talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank. The US official said that would include "a significant funding package" for hospitals that serve Palestinians in Israeli-annexed east al-Quds, which Palestinians claim as their future capital.

Biden´s administration will also announce measures towards providing 4G internet access in the West Bank and Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, the United States official said, addressing a persistent Palestinian frustration.

But, with Israel in political limbo ahead of its election, Biden is not expected to push Lapid for significant policy changes regarding the Palestinians.

"We are not going to come in with a top down peace plan because we don´t believe that would be the best approach," the US official said. But, "if the two parties are prepared to talk, we will be there," the official added.

Biden reaffirmed American support for a two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a day before a scheduled meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.

Biden's visit has met with deep scepticism from Palestinians who say their concerns on issues including self-determination and settlement building in the occupied West Bank have been swept aside by a drive to fix Israel into regional security arrangements with Arab countries.