Quad More Strategically Aligned, Relevant Than Ever: White House

Washington:

The upcoming Quad Summit in Delaware will show that the four-nation grouping is more strategically aligned and relevant than ever before, the White House has said.

QUAD, comprising Australia, Japan, India and the US, is an initiative of President Joe Biden. In the first 100 days of his presidency, Biden convened a virtual leadership summit of the QUAD countries in 2020.

Since then QUAD leaders have been holding an annual summit on a rotation basis.

"We believe you'll see... that the Quad is more strategically aligned and more relevant than ever before," John Kirby, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Director told reporters at a news conference here on Wednesday.

Kriby's comments came ahead of President Biden's hosting of the other three QUAD leaders from Australia, India, and Japan in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday.

It was India's turn to host the Quad Summit. But following a request from Washington, India agreed to host the Summit next year.

Biden will host the fourth ‘Quad Leaders Summit' in Wilmington, Delaware, on September 21.

Kirby said the current Quad Summit will be the first time that the US has hosted foreign leaders in Wilmington, the president's hometown.

"And he's very excited about that, about showing them a place and a community that shapes so much of the public servant and the leader that he became. It's also a reflection of his belief that like politics, foreign policy is also personal," he said.

Kirby said Biden will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese individually, and later in a plenary.

Kirby said over the last more than three years, Biden has made it a priority to invest in rebuilding America's network of alliances and partnerships across the Indo-Pacific.

"So think about AUKUS, for instance, or the trilateral Camp David summit with Japan and South Korea or the first ever US-Japan-Philippines Leaders' Summit in April," he said.

Prime Minister Modi will pay a three-day visit to the US beginning September 21 to attend the annual Quad Summit and address the ‘Summit of the Future' at the UN General Assembly.

He will also address a gathering of the Indian community in New York on September 22 during his three-day visit. 

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