India to host Quad foreign ministers’ meet today, Indo-Pacific region in focus

The Quad leaders held their first formal summit in 2021 and met again virtually in March

India will host the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad meeting of the foreign ministers on March 3 at the national capital.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will chair the meeting, which will be attended by Foreign Minister of Australia Penny Wong, Foreign Minister of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

It is to be noted that Hayashi had skipped the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on March 2 but arrived in New Delhi to attend the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting today.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting’s agenda will be on the lines of recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and regional issues of mutual interests “guided by their vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.” It will also address China’s aggressive actions across the region, including the country’s expanding influence in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

What is ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ (QSD), the Quad?

Known as the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ (QSD), the Quad is an informal strategic forum comprising four nations, namely -- United States of America (USA), India, Australia and Japan. One of the primary objectives of the Quad is to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

The group met for the first time in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) but then fell dormant for almost a decade as Australia raised concerns that its participation in the group would bother China, but regardless was resurrected in 2017.

The partnership, overall, is considered an alliance of maritime democracies, and the forum is maintained by meetings, semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills of all the member countries.

The Quad leaders held their first formal summit in 2021 and met again virtually in March.