QUAD leaders reaffirm commitment to contain COVID; discuss Afghanistan & Indo-Pacific

In the first in-person QUAD Summit, the QUAD leaders on Friday, 24 September, shared perspectives on the Afghanistan situation, Indo-Pacific challenges and reaffirmed their commitment to work together to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at a press briefing after the QUAD Summit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the four leaders - PM Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japan’s PM Yoshihide Suga - discussed a common approach to emerging technologies, cybersecurity and addressing the challenge of climate change. 

Shringla said, “It was the first in-person QUAD Summit that took place. The meeting enables leaders to share views on contemporary issues in the region.”

He added, “They shared perspectives on the situation in Afghanistan, the emerging challenges in South Asia and Indo-Pacific and reaffirmed their commitment to work together to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and work towards preventing the other pandemics that would come in the future. Evolving a common approach to emerging technologies, cybersecurity and addressing the challenge of climate change was something that the leaders discussed.”

'Force for global good'

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) Summit was initiated in 2007 by former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, with the goal of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. During the Summit, the four leaders pledged to work together for ensuring peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific and the world. In his opening remarks, PM Modi said that the QUAD will work in the role of “force for global good”. He also asserted that the cooperation among the four countries in the group will ensure peace and prosperity. 

While opening the Summit, the US President Biden said, “This group has democratic partners who share world views and have a common vision for the future.”

He added, “When we met six months ago, we made a concrete commitment to advance our shared positive agenda for free and open up the session. Today we are proud to say that we're making progress.”

Australian PM Morrison, on the other hand, asserted that the Indo-Pacific should be free from coercion in accordance with international law and sovereign rights must be respected. Japan’s Suga separately expressed the importance of the maiden in-person QUAD meeting and said that the Summit reflects strong ties among four nations, emphasising that the Indo-Pacific should be open and free. 

(With inputs from ANI)