China vs. IMEC: The Minilateral Movement in the Middle East Shifting Alliances: The Abraham Accords Ripple Effect:

IMEC: The Minilateral Movement in the Middle East, Jean- Loup Samaan from the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore joins us to dissect the rise of the new minilateral movement in the Middle East, IMEC, the groundbreaking corridor, and its impact on the region compared to Chinese initiatives. [...] I mean, the maybe the the the other thing that has to be discussed is the China factor, because as as mentioned earlier, the some of these initiatives and in particular to you too, it's less the case for the NEGA Forum or the the French India, UAE, arrangement. [...] How do these change the strategic environment for external actors who come into the Middle East? Jean-Loup Samaan: Well, there's I mean, first of all, you could say that the the mini lateral phenomenon at the the systematic, the systemic level is one of diff different consequences of this new transition of power or this type of, uncertainty that is, brought about by the US China competition and th. [...] When you talk about IMEC, I mean, one of the things a couple of the things that I was thinking about while you're talking, one of them was as the China watcher in the the from this region, you keep seeing whenever the Abraham Accords were announced was what's what's Beijing gonna think? This looks like a response to the Belt and Road. [...] There's no way you can discuss infrastructure projects like those, without considering just the security of the infrastructures in Israel, but also the the diplomatic aspects, because a lot of the countries will be, mindful of how, they are perceived, if they start investing in projects that sideline the reconstruction of, Gaza and more generally the the the Palestinian, territories.