US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his opening remarks at the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting on Tuesday said that Quad has become a focum to act on problems facing world.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his opening remarks at the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting on Tuesday said that Quad has become a focum to act on problems facing world. He said the collective goal over the last year has been to turn this from a forum in which all vmeet and talk about problems to one where we actually do something about them.
Marco Rubio addresses Quad Foreign Ministers Meet
Marco Rubio says, "I want to thank Minister Jaishankar and the Indian government for hosting us here, not just in the bilateral visit over the last three days, but for hosting this important gathering here again today...As I began as Secretary of State, and as has been pointed out earlier, my first meeting as Secretary of State was the Quad, within minutes of being sworn in. I thought that demonstrated our commitment to this process. But our goal collectively over the last year has been to turn this from a forum in which we meet and talk about problems to one where we actually do something about them. I think we can report to our people, respectively, that we are beginning to do that pretty aggressively in the areas of cooperation. It is also interesting that the areas that we are working together on have become even more relevant and more important because of recent events around the world. And so today, I think we'll make even further progress on operationalising our relationship in the areas that we can cooperate on. The most interesting thing about the Quad is not simply that we are, it is a gathering of four strategic allies in which we come together to compare notes about areas of common interest." "Not only is it increasingly becoming a forum by which we begin to take action, but each of these four nations represented here today bring unique capabilities that collectively we can bring to bear on some of most significant problems facing the world, whether it's a humanitarian response, whether it's the security of energy, whether it's the freedom of navigation, whether it's the need to diversify our supplies on not just energy but critical minerals and supply chains. These are areas where all four of our countries, collectively and individually, can bring tremendous assets to bear in terms of solving these problems."
Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presided over a key Quad foreign ministers' meeting which was attended by Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
Our focus will clearly be on the Indo-Pacific: Jaishankar
Dr S Jaishankar says, "We will be discussing and deciding our shared activities. Obviously, that will take into account the many challenges and opportunities in the world. Our focus will clearly be on the Indo-Pacific, which is the specific limit of the Quad. At the global level, we have to address issues like supply chain resilience, connectivity choke points, manufacturing and resource concentrations and gaps in critical infrastructure. Each one of them offers a new argument for more partnerships, stronger growth and realising the promise of technologies. The Indo-Pacific has, in addition, its own particular concerns. This will require enhancing strategic confidence, ensuring maritime security, promoting economic choices, and fostering a deeper collaborative ethos. And that is best done by promoting trusted and transparent partnerships." "Over the past several months, our officials have advanced collaboration across key core priorities, including maritime security, critical technologies, economic resilience and HADR. We have seen encouraging progress on many initiatives. As maritime democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, we share the responsibility towards a free and open Indo-Pacific. The region must remain a driver for global growth and stability. We will be underlining that today, through our deliberations, which I am confident will be useful and productive."
Quad will strongly promote cooperation to realise free and open Indo-Pacific: Motegi
Addressing the Quad Foreign Ministers' meet, Foreign Minister of Japan Toshimitsu Motegi says, "This Quad meeting signifies the firm message to the world that Quad will strongly promote cooperation to realise free and open Indo-Pacific...The Indo-Pacific nations should strengthen resilience and the necessary capacity to determine their own future, including economic security. Today, I hope for frank discussions, including accelerating the Quad collaboration."
We all want the Quad to be as strong and effective: Penny Wong
At the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Delhi, Foreign Minister of Australia, Penny Wong says, "We meet in the world's largest democracy and a power that is so important in the shaping of the Indo-Pacific and the world... I want to start by reflecting on a point that Minister Jaishankar made at one of our earlier Quads in Washington and spoke about choices and about doing what we can together to ensure that the Indo-Pacific and the countries within it have the freedom of choice on their security and on asserting their sovereign interests... This is central to how Australia approaches our engagement in the Quad..."
She also says, "... We are four sovereign nations, have our own histories and interests, but there is great alignment between our interests. We all share a vision for the Indo-Pacific, a region that is free and open... Each of us brings our unique perspective, experiences and strengths together as we work to achieve such a region. As the Quad, we have delivered concrete results when we responded to natural disasters... We have also cooperated on critical infrastructure, undersea cables, maritime security and critical minerals. We all want the Quad to be as strong and as effective as we can make it be, focused on delivering, and we are determined to continue its momentum. This is the future we want for our region, a peaceful, stable, prosperous region, and today we continue the work to build that..."
It should be noted that 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 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 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.
