Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underlined that Quad must remain focused on its objective of promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region amid the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Leaders of the Quad group of countries — the United States, India, Australia and Japan – met on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting was joined by the leaders of the Quad — Australian PM Scott Morrison, Indian PM Narendra Modi, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden.
Speaking at the virtual meeting, PM Modi called for concrete forms of cooperation within Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains and capacity-building, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The prime minister also emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy. He reiterated the importance of adhering to the UN Charter, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the PMO said.
In the meeting, the Quad leaders agreed that what is happening to Ukraine should not be allowed to happen in the Indo-Pacific, reported Reuters citing Japanese PM Kishida.
“We’ve agreed that unilateral changes to the status quo with force like this should not be allowed in the Indo-Pacific region,” Kishida said in reference of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Talking to reporters, Japan’s PM said “We’ve also agreed this development makes it even more important to work toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
In the meeting, the leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders’ Summit in Japan, the PMO added.
The leaders also agreed to stand up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism that will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the crisis in Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.
Biden hosted the first-ever summit of the Quad leaders in the virtual format in March 2021. Later, the Quad leaders held an in-person summit in Washington in September 2021 for which PM Modi had travelled to the US.
In February, the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping held extensive talks in Melbourne.
