The Quad Summit in Tokyo next week, between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and the new Australian PM Anthony Albanese, will give the leaders an opportunity to take stock of the progress on the Quad’s various initiatives and deliberate on the way ahead, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has said.
Modi will also hold separate one-on-one meetings with the leaders of all three partner countries focussing on bilateral economic and strategic ties.
The four-country grouping has been working on continued cooperation on Covid response and post-Covid management of the economy and health infrastructure; climate action including decarbonised shipping and use of clean hydrogen; supporting sustainable and demand-driven infrastructure in the region and cooperating on critical and emerging technologies, the Foreign Secretary said.
“Developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest might also come up for discussion,” Kwatra said at a media briefing on Saturday.
Modi’s trip to Japan
Modi will travel to Japan on an official visit on May 23-24 to participate in the Third Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo at the invitation of the Japanese PM. He would also hold bilateral meetings with Biden, Kishida, and with PM of Australia, Kwatra said. Modi will also engage with the Japanese business community and the Indian diaspora.
”PM’s meeting with President Biden will mark a continuation of the high-level dialogue and provide guidance and vision to take the relationship forward,” Kwatra said, adding that the two countries’ long-standing cooperation in areas such as trade, defence, security, climate, and education is on an upward trajectory.
Highlighting the importance of India’s relationship with Japan, the Foreign Secretary pointed out that Kishida’s visit to India in March this year saw substantial outcomes, including a target of JPY5 trillion ($40 billion) in public and private investment and financing over the next five years and adoption of partnerships in the areas of industrial competitiveness, clean energy, sustainable development initiative for the North East, and sustainable urban development.
“In Tokyo, the two PMs will continue discussions on how to further deepen bilateral economic cooperation, including in trade and investment; clean energy; cooperation in the North East; people to people ties; digital partnership; and on common issues of regional and global importance,” Kwatra said.
New Australian PM’s participation
Following Australia’s elections on Saturday, the next Australian Prime Minister is likely to attend the Quad Summit. “It is expected that Modi will meet the new Australian Prime Minister in Tokyo,” he said.
When asked about the fate of the India-Australia CEPA signed recently, the Foreign Secretary pointed out that there was bipartisan support in Australia for a strategic partnership with India. “The discussions between two leaders in Tokyo is expected to be forward-leaning not just taking stock of the developments so far but also how to build on it further and expand the cooperative efforts,” Kwatra said.
The PM will hold a business roundtable with around 25-30 Japanese industry representatives and have a few one-on-one meetings with prominent Japanese business leaders in Tokyo. Modi will also interact with the Indian community in Japan.