NEW DELHI: Hosting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Rubio, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Quad’s focus remains on the Indo-Pacific, with global issues like supply chain resilience, connectivity choke points, manufacturing and resource concentrations also on the agenda.In their opening remarks Jaishankar said: “As maritime democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, we share the responsibility towards a free and open Indo-Pacific. The region must remain a driver for global growth and stability,”Rubio, speaking at his first Quad meeting as Secretary of State — “literally within minutes of being sworn in” — said the goal over the last year has been to turn the Quad “from a forum in which we meet and talk about problems to one where we actually do something about it.”He said the West Asia crisis has made the Quad’s areas of cooperation “even more relevant and more important,” identifying humanitarian response, energy security, freedom of navigation, critical minerals and supply chains as key areas where the four countries can bring “tremendous assets to bear.”Rubio added that Quad staff coordinate “year-round constantly,” with personnel at the State Department “specifically assigned to this relationship.”Wong said the ministers meet at a time when the Indo-Pacific is under “accelerating contest, a deteriorating strategic environment and acute economic stress.”She said the Quad’s shared vision is for a region that is “free and open, peaceful, stable and prosperous,” and noted that the grouping has delivered concrete results — responding to the earthquake in Myanmar and the landslide in Papua New Guinea, and cooperating on undersea cables, maritime security and critical minerals.“We are determined to continue the Quad’s momentum,” Wong said.Motegi, speaking at the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting since the inaugural session in September 2019, said the grouping sends an “unshaken strong message” to promote practical cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.He said the region must “strengthen resilience and determine its own future,” calling for accelerated cooperation on maritime security.
What should be the Quad’s top priority right now?
Jaishankar outlined four priority areas where officials have advanced collaboration — maritime security, critical technologies, economic resilience and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR).“We have seen encouraging progress on many initiatives,” he said.
