External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Washington DC on Tuesday, one day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th US President. Expressing gratitude to the new Secretary of State Marco Rubio for organizing the Quad meeting, Jaishankar highlighted its importance in terms of timing. “This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states,” he tweeted.
The External Affairs Minister conversed with his counterparts about “different dimensions” of securing a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
In a tweet, Jaishankar stated that the Quad will remain a positive global influence, and the Quad ministers, including Australia’s Penny Wong and Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya, along with Rubio, concurred on enhancing their cooperation.
“Attended a productive Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in Washington DC. Thank @secrubio for hosting us and FMs @SenatorWong and Takeshi Iwaya for their participation,” he said.
“Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump administration. This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states. Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Quad is a strategic alliance focused on countering China’s military assertiveness in the South China Sea, which Beijing asserts it wholly controls.
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“Our four nations uphold our belief that international law, economic opportunities, peace, stability, and security in all areas, including maritime regions, are fundamental to the growth and well-being of the people in the Indo-Pacific. We firmly reject any unilateral measures aimed at altering the status quo through force or intimidation,” The Quad members said in a statement following the meeting,
