New Delhi, May 26:
The economic fallout of the West Asia crisis, the prevailing security situation in the Indo-Pacific and ways to boost cooperation in critical minerals and technology are expected to top the agenda at a crucial meeting of the Quad foreign ministers on Tuesday.
The New Delhi meeting will be attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presiding over it.
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.
The meeting comes nearly a year after the Quad foreign ministers met in Washington DC.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) indicated that the Quad’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific would be the central focus of the deliberations.
The ministers will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing initiatives and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern, it said last week.
People familiar with the preparations for the meeting said the Quad foreign ministers will deliberate on the pressing global challenges, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, and will take stock of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese assertiveness.
In the last few years, the Quad 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.