Il Axios portal revealed the American project to hinder the Chinese Silk Road. On the table a railway and maritime network capable of uniting Middle and Far East, Saudi Arabia e India and why not, in the future too Israel. The US National Security Advisor would have spoken about it, Jake sullivan during his recent visit to Riyadh. The project does not mind neither a New Delhi or the United Arab Emirates.
Before embarking on the journey to Riyadh, Sullivan commented to reporters as follows: “we have the interest and the necessary space to promote the standardization between Israel e Saudi Arabia. A more integrated and interconnected Middle East strengthens our allies and partners, promotes peace and prosperity, and reduces the need for American resources in the region".
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The Biden administration, writes Repubblica, last year favored an agreement to transfer control over a couple of small islands in the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, leading Riyadh to open its airspace to civilian flights to and from Israel.
Saudi Arabia has also shown itself open to a rapprochement with Iran, the bitter enemy of Israel and the Sunnis of the Gulf. This could cool down the rapprochement process even if Riyadh is pursuing parallel normalization of relations with Tel Aviv, so much so that one of the insights of Sullivan with the prince Mohammad bin Salman it will be precisely the new Arab-Israeli scenario in relation to the interconnection of railway and sea routes.
The head of the Israeli National Security Council, zachi hanegbi, said in an interview that he was attentively awaiting the results of Sullivan's visit.
As for the sumptuous railway network in favor of regional development, this was already discussed in July 2022 by the heads of government of the USA, the Emirates, Israel and India at the I2U2 summit.
Apparently at the aforementioned summit it was Israel that proposed the ambitious project of a railway network through the Gulf countries, to then be connected to India via maritime trade routes by exploiting the ports of the region.
Then the Biden administration, embracing the Israeli idea, thought of involving Saudi Arabia as well.