PM Modi and Joe Biden will meet virtually on Friday (Archive)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate tomorrow in the first online summit of the Quad bloc of nations, where the new US President Joe Biden will also participate. It is not yet known if they will have an exclusive encounter. The two leaders have had phone conversations twice, the last after Biden’s victory, where, among other things, they had discussed the Quad meeting.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are the other two participants in 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 to maintain 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The agenda will also include ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders will “explore opportunities for collaboration to ensure safe, equitable and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region,” the government said.
At the last Quad meeting in October, the four nations had reaffirmed the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific in the context of the border dispute with China and the aggressive military behavior of the Southeast Asian giant in the Indus. -Pacific and South China Sea.
Then-US Secretary of State Pompeo had taken a hard line with China, calling on participating nations to unite against Beijing’s “exploitation, corruption and coercion” in the region.
In February, Prime Minister Modi and Mr Biden discussed Quad when the US President called New Delhi. The two leaders had agreed on the need to strengthen Indo-Pacific security through the Quad grouping.
“The leaders agreed to continue close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad,” the White House said in a statement.
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