The US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and India are mulling plans for a major infrastructure project that would see Arab countries in the Levant and the Gulf linked by rail and the region connected to India via ports, Axios quotes sources with knowledge of the plan as saying. The US-led initiative reportedly seeks to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) logistical mega project and to counteract growing Chinese influence in the region. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was scheduled to meet with Saudi, Emirati, and Indian counterparts yesterday to discuss the plan, sources told Axios.

A big driver is a push to rival China’s involvement in MENA: “Nobody said it out loud but it was about China from day one,” a former senior Israeli official involved in the discussions told Axios. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has lent bns of USD to infrastructure projects in the MENA region and other low-income countries, including in Africa.

Background: The proposed logistical corridor’s roots go back to multilateral talks between the USA, UAE, Israel, and India. Israel’s suggestion that the region work with the US towards establishing a logistical corridor during the I2U2 forum — which includes the US, Israel, the UAE, and India — was picked up by the Biden administration, which expanded its scope by getting Saudi Arabia onboard. Although there have yet to be any official statements on the subject, Sullivan has made references to the general strategy in recent statements, Axios notes, citing Sullivan’s reference to a more “interconnected Middle East.”

What does Israel have to do with it? While Israel is not part of this initiative at the moment, the country could be folded into the plans in the future as part of efforts to further normalize relations with the country in the region, Axios quotes the sources as saying.

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