PM Modi, other Quad leaders meet in Tokyo at 2nd in-person summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the United States Japan and Australia on Tuesday attended the second inperson meeting of Quad leaders here during which they will exchange views about developments in the IndoPacific region and global issues of mutual interestThe Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India the US Japan and AustraliaBesides Modi the Quad summit is being attended by US President Joe Biden Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australias newlyelected Prime Minister Anthony AlbaneseSpeaking at the summit Prime Minister Modi said the Quad has gained a significant place on the world stage in a short span of time Today the Quads scope has become comprehensive and its identity became significant he saidPresident Biden welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the Quad Summit saying its wonderful to see you again in personWe share the same goal of ensuring a free and open IndoPacific that will deliver greater prosperity and greater opportunity for all of our children I am looking forward to continuing to work with all of you and to strengthen economic cooperation to deliver inclusive growthand shared prosperity Biden said in his opening remarksIn a statement before he left for Japan on Sunday Modi had said the summit will provide an opportunity for the leaders to review the progress of the Quad initiatives and exchange views about developments in the IndoPacific region and global issues of mutual interestUnited by shared democratic values Committed to a free open and inclusive IndoPacific The Quad Leaders Summit with PM narendramodi PM AlboMP of Australia PM kishida230 of Japan and President JoeBiden of USA POTUS gets underway in Tokyo Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweetedAlboMPmdash kishida230 May 22 2022An opportunity for the Leaders to exchange views about regional and global developments review progress of Quad initiatives identify new areas of cooperation and provide strategic guidance for future collaboration he said in another tweetThe summit is taking place under the shadow of the RussiaUkraine conflictJapanese Prime Minister Kishida said that Russian invasion of Ukraine has challenged the principles enshrined in the UN CharterThe summit is also taking place at a time when the relations between China and the Quad member countries have become tense with Beijing increasingly challenging democratic values and resorting to coercive trade practicesIndia the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free open and thriving IndoPacific in the backdrop of Chinas rising military manoeuvring in the regionChina claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea though Taiwan the Philippines Brunei Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China SeaOn the eve of the summit Biden on Monday launched the ambitious IndoPacific Economic Framework for Prosperity IPEF which is an initiative aimed at deeper cooperation among likeminded countries in areas such as clean energy supplychain resilience and digital tradeThe rollout of the IPEF is expected to send across a signal that the US is focused on pushing forward a strong economic policy for the region to counter Chinas aggressive strategy on trade in the regionIn March last year President Biden hosted the firstever summit of the Quad leaders in the virtual format that was followed by an inperson summit in Washington in September The Quad leaders also held a virtual meeting in MarchIn November 2017 India Japan the US and Australia gave shape to the longpending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the IndoPacific free of any influence amidst Chinas growing military presence in the strategic regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever