MODI TO ATTEND QUAD SUMMIT TODAY, HOLD KEY BILATERAL TALKS

HT Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the first in-person Quad summit in two years on Tuesday, the second and final day of his Tokyo visit.

He is also set to hold bilateral talks with US president Joe Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian PM Anthony Albanese.

The Quad summit is aimed at further bolstering cooperation among the member nations – US, Australia, India, Japan – and discussing developments in the Indo-pacific region.

HT had reported on Monday that the Ukraine crisis and the Indo-pacific situation, particularly in the context of China’s moves in the region, were expected to be key points during talks between Biden and the PM.

For Washington, the core objective is weakening Russia and enabling Ukraine to push Moscow back to the extent possible; for Delhi, the core objective is restoring peace so that the war’s inflationary consequences are managed and there is a reprieve at home. Food security, too, will emerge as a point of discussion with PM Modi having an opportunity to share India’s concerns and decisions on securing wheat supplies at home while exporting it in a calibrated manner to countries in need.

Meanwhile, even as Quad members want to focus on consolidation rather than expansion in terms of formal membership, there may be an effort to create room for South Korea in specific working groups. PM Modi on Monday joined US president Joe Biden in the launch of a Us-initiated trade framework aimed at deeper cooperation among like-minded countries. The rollout of the Indo-pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) by the US came as part of Washington’s efforts to push forward a strong economic policy for the Indo-pacific to counter China’s aggressive strategy on trade.