Mumbai: On Saturday, US President Joe Biden will welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at Archmere Academy, the high school in Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden himself was a student. This marks the sixth and fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, a significant event in Biden’s hometown.
For the first time as President, Biden will host foreign leaders in Wilmington, including an “intimate leaders’ dinner” at his private home. The White House believes this is not just a formal gathering but a reflection of Biden’s deep personal relationships with each Quad Leader, underscoring the Quad’s importance to all countries.
The Quad leaders will also announce their signature effort –The Cancer Moonshot, which aims to deploy innovative techniques to prevent, detect, treat, and mitigate the burden of cancer on patients and their families.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced earlier this week that the grouping plans to collaborate to reduce the prevalence of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region.
As Prime Minister Modi left for Philadelphia on Saturday morning, Biden, who had also visited his school on Friday, met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at his home in Wilmington.
“I look forward to joining my colleagues President Biden, Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Kishida for the Quad Summit. The forum has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. My meeting with President Biden will allow us to review and identify new pathways to further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for the benefit of our people and the global good,” said PM Modi before his departure.
The Quad – a diplomatic partnership between India, the United States, Australia and Japan – remains committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Focusing on inclusivity and resilience, this partnership is important in the current geopolitical landscape.
The Quad countries account for 1.9 billion combined people, 44 percent of two-way merchandise trade across the Indo-Pacific region, US $34.8 trillion combined GDP, and 30 percent of global foreign direct investment (FDI) stock.
Having swapped its turn with the US due to scheduling issues, India will now host the 2025 Quad Summit as the relationship between the partner nations continues to expand strategically and economically.
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Washington asserts that the Biden-Harris Administration has prioritised elevating and institutionalising the Quad, beginning with the first Quad Leaders Summit at the White House in 2021 and continuing with annual Summits since then.
“The Quad Leaders Summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas. These include health security, natural disaster response, maritime security, high-quality infrastructure, critical and emerging technology, climate and clean energy, and cybersecurity,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on September 12.
The bloc continues to coordinate at all levels, having held eight Quad Foreign Ministers’ meetings till now.
In May 2023, after the Hiroshima Quad Leaders’ Summit, the four leaders released two statements—a Leaders’ Vision Statement setting out their strategic vision for the Quad’s future and a Joint Leaders’ Statement.
During the summit, PM Modi emphasised the importance of consolidating Quad’s constructive agenda and delivering tangible outcomes for the region.
A number of initiatives were also announced to strengthen the Indo-Pacific’s resilience and prosperity, including a Clean Energy Supply Chains Initiative, Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Programme, Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, and the launch of a Quad Investors’ Network to facilitate investments in strategic technologies.
While monitoring China’s increasing presence in the Indo-Pacific, the Quad leaders have also reiterated the importance of upholding the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful dispute resolution. This commitment underscores the Quad’s dedication to peace and stability in the region.
Earlier this week, a senior White House official acknowledged that maritime security cooperation between Quad partners has picked up pace out of the public limelight, as has defence cooperation bilaterally and multilaterally between them.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior official in Biden’s National Security Council, told a news conference that the Quad leaders could discuss Bangladesh developments as a “plan to focus on each neighbourhood in the region”.
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–IANS
(Image courtesy: PIB)
