New Delhi: The four leaders of the Quad met in person in Tokyo on Tuesday, reaffirming the grouping’s resolve to protect the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US president Joe Biden held a bilateral meeting on Tuesday in Tokyo, hours after the second in-person Quad summit kicked off with a focus on the Indo-pacific region and the Ukraine war.
After the meeting, PM Modi said, “India and the US partnership – in the true sense – is a partnership of trust.” The two countries share common views on the Indo-pacific region.
“I’m confident that with the conclusion of the US Investment Incentive Agreement, we will see concrete progress in investment between our two countries. We are also increasing bilateral cooperation in terms of technology and other areas,” he added.
The leader of the QUAD countries has changed in the last few months except for Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India). Joe Biden had taken the oath of office as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021. In October 2021, Fumio Kishida was officially elected as Japan’s 100th Prime Minister, and a few days back – Anthony Albanese was elected as Prime Minister of Australia replacing Scott Morrisson.
According to the political experts, Leaders of the Quad may follow PM Modi’s advice and suggestions more as he is the most senior leader in the Quad group since 2014.
During the 2017 ASEAN Summits in Manila, all four former members led by Abe, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and US President Donald Trump agreed to revive the quadrilateral alliance in order to counter China militarily and diplomatically in the “Indo-Pacific” region, particularly in the South China Sea.
(Vinayak)