Quad to hold talks on Indo-Pacific at summit: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: The Quad Leaders Summit in Tokyo will review the progress of initiatives launched by the grouping and discuss developments in the Indo-Pacific region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

In a statement ahead of his visit to Japan on May 23-24, Modi said he will hold bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian prime minister-elect Anthony Albanese on the margins of the summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, on May 24.

The second in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit will “provide an opportunity for the leaders of the four Quad countries to review the progress of Quad initiatives”, he said. “We will also exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest.”

Modi’s bilateral meeting with Biden will focus on “further consolidation of our multi-faceted bilateral relations” with the US. “We will also continue our dialogue on regional developments and contemporary global issues,” he said.

Kishida visited India in March for the annual bilateral summit, and Modi said he will continue his conversation with his Japanese counterpart to strengthen the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership.

“The newly-elected Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese will be joining the Quad Leaders Summit for the first time. I look forward to a bilateral meeting with him during which the multifaceted cooperation between India and Australia under the comprehensive strategic partnership, and regional and global issues of mutual interest will be discussed,” Modi said.

Economic cooperation between India and Japan was an important aspect of the bilateral special strategic and global partnership, Modi noted. During the bilateral summit in March, Kishida and Modi announced their intention to realise public and private investments and financing from Japan worth five trillion yen over the next five years.

“During the forthcoming visit, I will meet with Japanese business leaders with the goal of further strengthening economic linkages between our countries in pursuit of this objective,” Modi said.

Japan is home to nearly 40,000 members of the Indian diaspora, and Modi described

them as an “important anchor in our relations with Japan”. He said he looked forward to interacting with the Indian community.