‘Historic’ India to EU trade connection to include Israel and Saudi Arabia - report

The highly anticipated plan to connect the European (EU) to India through the Middle East was slated to be unveiled at the G20 Summit on Saturday, with Western officials giving a sneak peak into the details.

The plan to increase trade between India and Europe by up to 40 percent would integrate connections across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, EU officials told AFP.

The report added that the “historic” plans will include “data, rail, electricity and hydrogen pipeline links,” and would be presented as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative global infrastructure investment.

An American official expected a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be signed on the sidelines of the G20 summit, including Saudi Arabia, the EU, UAE, and the United States.

The MOU would be in order to "explore a shipping and rail transportation (project) that will enable the flow of commerce, energy and data from here in India across the Middle East to Europe,” U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor, Jon Finer, told reporters at the summit.

"This has been the result of months of careful diplomacy, quiet, careful diplomacy, bilaterally and in multilateral settings," Finer added.

This project "has enormous potential but exactly how long it takes, I don't know," the U.S. official concluded.

The massive infrastructure agreement came as Washington actively engaged with Riyadh, to encourage a regional integration project that would see the kingdom normalize ties with Israel.

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was attending the G20 Summit in person, and would reportedly sign the Europe to India infrastructure project that's been dubbed as a “New Spice Route.”