Hiroshima Quad Summit: Leaders announce several key initiatives focused on Indo-Pacific

New Delhi/Hiroshima: The Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima saw the leaders of the four countries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announce several initiatives focused on the Indo-Pacific, including on Infrastructure Programme, a Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience and a Quad Investors’ Network.

The MEA spokesperson in a tweet said:

“PM @narendramodi joined PM @AlboMP of Australia, PM @kishida230 of Japan and President @JoeBiden of USA @POTUS for the 3rd in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit.

“Leaders reviewed efforts to address Indo-Pacific’s priorities on health security, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure, connectivity and maritime domain awareness.

“Also announced new initiatives on Infrastructure Programme, the Clean Energy Diversification Programme, a Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience and the Quad Investors’ Network.”

A statement said: Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the third in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima today along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Joseph Biden of the US.

The Leaders had a productive dialogue about developments in the Indo-Pacific which affirmed their shared democratic values and strategic interests.

Guided by their vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, they reiterated the importance of upholding the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of disputes. In this context, they released the Quad Leaders’ Vision Statement – Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific” which articulates their principled approach, a statement said.

To strengthen the resilience and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific the Leaders announced following initiatives which would complement the development priorities of the region:

Clean Energy Supply Chains Initiative which would facilitate research and development and support the Indo-Pacific’s energy transition. In addition, the Quad Principles of Clean Energy Supply Chains were approved to guide engagement with the region on clean energy supply chain development.

‘Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Programme’ to support policy makers and practitioners in the region to design, build and manage sustainable and viable infrastructure in their countries.

‘Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience’ to leverage Quad’s collective expertise in design, manufacturing, laying and maintenance of undersea cables to secure and diversify these critical networks.

Quad support for a small-scale ORAN (open radio access network for telecom services) deployment in Palau, the first in the Pacific region. They also released the ORAN Security Report to support industry investment in open, interoperable and secure telecom platforms.

Quad Investors’ Network has been launched as a private sector led platform to facilitate investments in strategic technologies.

The Leaders welcomed progress of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, announced at their Summit last year in Tokyo. They noted that data sharing with partners in South East and the Pacific under this programme is underway and would soon include partners in the Indian Ocean Region.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted how India’s approach to demand-driven development cooperation with the region was contributing to these efforts.

The Leaders agreed on the need to preserve the integrity of the UN, its Charter and its agencies. They agreed on continuing their efforts to strengthen and reform the multilateral system, including through an expansion of the UNSC membership in both permanent and non-permanent categories.

Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance of consolidating Quad’s constructive agenda and delivering tangible outcomes for the region. The Leaders agreed to continue their regular dialogue and maintain the momentum of Quad engagement.

In this context, Prime Minister invited Quad Leaders to India for the next Quad Summit in 2024, the statement said.

UNI