New Delhi: Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi participated in the first in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C., USA on 24 September 2021, along with Prime Minister of Australia, H.E. Mr. Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Mr. Yoshihide Suga, and President of the United States of America, H.E. Mr. Joseph Biden. The Leaders had a very useful exchange of views which reinforced the shared interests, values and underlying principles in which the Quad framework was anchored.
The Leaders shared their respective perspectives on Afghanistan and the regional situation in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. On Afghanistan, they agreed to deepen their cooperation in counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and called on the Taliban to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 2593.
The Leaders denounced the use of terrorist proxies and emphasized the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist groups which could be used to launch or plan terror attacks, including cross-border attacks.
The Quad Leaders took stock of progress made since their March 2021 Summit, especially the Covid-19 vaccine partnership. They welcomed Prime Minister’s announcement that India will start supply of India-made Covid 19 vaccines to the Indo-Pacific region with eight million doses, from October 2021. With the objective of normalising international travel and ensuring predictability, Prime Minster proposed common travel norms among countries and mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.
The Leaders discussed affirmative actions towards climate change, decarbonization efforts in shipping and port operations, deployment of clean hydrogen technology, the need for responsible and resilient clean energy supply chains. In this context, Prime Minister proposed a Global Green Hydrogen coalition, given our respective strengths and capabilities. The Leaders also launched a Shipping Taskforce that will coordinate greening and decarbonizing the shipping value chain. Mumbai Port Trust will participate in this initiative along with ports from the other three Quad countries.
The Leaders issued the Quad Principles on Technology Design, Development, Governance, and Use that will guide not only the region but the world toward responsible, open, high-standards innovation.
To facilitate and strengthen people to people linkages, the Leaders announced a Fellowship program for 100 students per year to pursue Masters and Doctoral degrees in STEM fields in USA.
A Quad Infrastructure Coordination Group was launched to share assessments of regional infrastructure needs and coordinate approaches, technical assistance and capacity-building efforts,
The Leaders also setup a space cooperation working group to exchange satellite data for monitoring and adapting to climate change, disaster preparedness, and responding to challenges in shared domains.
The Summit was an opportunity for the Leaders to build on the Quad’s positive momentum and its constructive agenda to make it a force for global good. The Leaders reiterated their commitment and shared vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. They agreed to maintain regular contact and continue the high-level dialogue.