Excerpt: “India has been making ever greater use of informal, issue-specific, ‘minilateral’ collaborations to secure its interest in a changing world order. Prominent among these is a trans regional grouping involving India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States, known as ‘I2U2.’ This grouping was formed in 2021 on the back of the 2020 Abraham Accords, with the primary aim of accelerating economic collaboration in areas that leverage the material interests of its members— connecting investment finance, technology, labor, and markets. For India, I2U2 holds specific strategic significance. New Delhi sees the Middle East as part of its extended neighborhood and has invested in a pragmatic balancing strategy across the region. I2U2 is also an initiative that highlights India’s deepening relationships with the United States, which has developed partly in response to China’s growing influence across South Asia and the Middle East.”