Amid Iran Deal Uncertainty, Quad Members Gather in New Delhi To Discuss Indo-Pacific, Energy, Economy

Quad members -- the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue grouping -- comprising India, the United States, Australia, and Japan, are all set to meet for a foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, at a time when the world is dealing with global security, energy and economic challenges, due to the tensions in the Middle East and Iran war. The Quad foreign ministers' meeting -- which will be attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi -- will meet and brainstorm on boosting cooperation over the prevailing situation in the Indo-Pacific.The Quad members will also discuss ways to boost cooperation in critical minerals

and technology and expected to top the agenda at a crucial meeting. The Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, has emerged as a key grouping largely focusing on peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. India is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of the coalition.Tomorrow's meet is the first Quad meeting after the foreign ministers from member nations met in Washington DC.

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MEA on Quad Mission

According to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as the ministers will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing initiatives including other international issues of mutual concern, the members mission would be for a free and open Indo-Pacific.As per people familiar to Quad meeting preparations, the members are expected to hold talks on:

• Pressing global challenges, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia
• The Quad members will take stock of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific as the region has been witnessing increasing Chinese assertiveness.

Quad Actions So Far

The Quad, in the last few years, has rolled out a number of initiatives addressing some of the most pressing needs and challenges of the Indo-Pacific region, including in areas of maritime security, infrastructure and connectivity.

Key Outcomes From Quad Summit in 2024

In the last Quad summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States and hosted by the then President Joe Biden, unveiled major steps to expand maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.Tuesday Meeting To Set Agenda For Quad Summit Later This YearTuesday's meeting is also likely to set the broad agenda of the Quad summit that is likely to take place in India later this year.US Secretary of State Rubio, after holding bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday, described the Quad as an important mechanism."Because the Quad is a forum of alignment between four countries which are not just strategically aligned on a bunch of key issues but four countries that have the ability to varying degrees to influence global events on these topics of mutual interest," he said at a media briefing.

Rubio on Trump's Commitment to Quad

The US Secretary of State also responded to a question on whether the Trump administration showed the same commitment and investment in the Quad as the previous US administration."I want to remind you that the Quad, actually in the current form, started during President Trump's first administration. And, actually, it picked up then. It has moved on," he said.Rubio said, looking ahead, the Indo-Pacific is going to become more and more important with the passage of time."We were just talking about energy. It'll even become a big energy lifeline. I mean, if you're going to see, for example, a much bigger India-US energy trade or India's energy and general trade with the US, with other countries in the Americas, I can see much more growth, much more trade, much more maritime activity out there," he said."So, to me, the work on Quad goes on. And I think two days from now, you will see us on the podium talking about the Quad. And I can assure you, we will have a good, strong story to tell," he said.At the briefing, Jaishankar also stressed on the importance of the Quad."We are doing a lot with each other because we are maritime powers. And I see that growing. And we are doing a lot with each other because we are democratic powers who have a certain way of doing things, who have a certain belief system, who have certain practices," he said."We are market economies, we are open societies. We want business to be conducted and life to run on the basis of international law and market practices.""It is very important that the Quad cooperation as maritime democracies continues, and that is exactly what you will see," he added.With inputs from PTI