Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga attended the first in-person Quad meeting in Washington DC on Friday.
In his opening remarks, PM Narendra Modi said that the Quad will ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region as well as across the globe.
In his short opening speech, PM said – “I am confident that our cooperation will establish peace and prosperity in the world and Indo-Pacific. I firmly believe our Quad would act as a force for global good. We had come together for the first time after the 2004 Tsunami for regional cooperation in Indo-Pacific. Today, as the world is fighting COVID-19, we as part of Quad have come together again for humanity. Our Quad vaccine initiative will greatly help the Indo-Pacific countries.”
Biden, who hosted the summit of the regional grouping said that the four democracies – Japan, India, the US and Australia share a common vision for the future and will tackle common challenges from COVID-19 to climate. In a notable move, Biden also announced a new Quad fellowship for students from each of the Quad countries to pursue advanced degrees in leading stem programs in the United States.
Batting for ópen and free Indo-Pacific’, Japanese PM Suga said “I hope we are able to hold a relevant summit”.
Cooperation mechanism should not target a third party: China
The four countries have come together for a free and open Indo-Pacific on the backdrop of China’s increasing influence in the region. Commenting on the meet hours before it began, China hoped that the grouping of the four countries does not ‘target’ any other nation.
“China always believes that any regional cooperation mechanism should not target a third party or harm its interests. Seeking exclusive closed cliques against a third country runs against the trend of the times and aspirations of countries in the region. It will find no support and is doomed to fail,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters.
Ahead of the summit, PM Modi also separately met each of the leaders of the group and reiterated the importance of maritime security and stressed on India’s commitment towards ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’.
