Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the first online summit of the Quad bloc of nations tomorrow, where the new US President Joe Biden is also participating. It is not yet known if they will have an exclusive meeting. The two leaders have had telephonic conversations twice, the last one after Mr Biden’s victory, where among other issues, they had discussed the Quad meeting.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are the two other participants of the Quad – revived in 2017 to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
The leaders will discuss “regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” the government said.
“The summit will provide an opportunity to exchange views on contemporary challenges such as resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security, and climate change,” read a statement from the foreign ministry.
The US, India, Australia and Japan are known as the “Quad,” a loose grouping of four democracies in the Indo-Pacific region that support a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Modi-Suga phone call came ahead of a possible summit of the leaders of the Quad nations that is expected to be held as early as 12 March as part of the new Biden administration’s focus on reinforcing the group and countering China.