US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India hope to ink railway deal at G20 summit

The United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates [UAE] and India are hoping to strike a railway deal that would connect the Middle East and India at G20 summit in New Delhi, according to Axios.

The deal is expected to be announced on Saturday, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two sources with knowledge of the plan.

The project will connect Arab countries in the Levant and the Gulf through a network of railways. It is going to connect India as well through shipping lanes from the region's ports.

The plan comes as China's influence grows in the region, a key part of its Belt and Road initiative.

In March, China brokered a deal between regional heavy weights Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Biden heads for G20 to seize on Xi, Putin no-shows

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden Biden left for India, aiming to boost alliances at a summit where global tensions will be highlighted by the absence of the leaders of China and Russia.

But deep disagreements on Russia's offensive in Ukraine and on how to help emerging nations tackle climate crisis are expected to hamper agreements during the two-day meeting in New Delhi.

"As the president heads to the G20, he’s committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing ahead of the summit.

"That's what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend."

China's Xi Jinping will miss the G20 meeting at a time of heightened trade and geopolitical tensions with the United States and India, with which it shares a long and disputed border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is meanwhile not even planning to make a video address at the G20, the Kremlin said on Thursday, amid fraught relations between Moscow and the West over Ukraine conflict.

The White House's Sullivan said the United States wants to show the G20 can deliver at a time when the BRICS club of emerging economies — which includes India but has been championed largely by China and Russia — is expanding.

Sullivan said on Tuesday that China could opt to "play the role of spoiler" but that Modi and other leaders would "encourage them to come in a constructive way."