Quad Summit 2022: PM Modi to be among first global leaders to meet new Australia PM

New Delhi: The second in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Japan will provide an opportunity for leaders of four countries to review the progress of the grouping’s initiatives and exchange views on developments in the Indo-Pacific as well as on global issues of mutual interest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday. Modi will be one of the first few global leaders who will meet the newly elected PM of Australia Anthony Albanese, whose election comes right before the summit. In his departure statement ahead of his visit to Japan from May 23-24, Modi noted that the newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be joining the Quad Leaders’ Summit for the first time.

“I look forward to a bilateral meeting with him during which the multifaceted cooperation between India and Australia under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and regional and global issues of mutual interest will be discussed,” Modi said.

“We will also exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest,” he said.

Modi-Biden dialogue during Quad Summit

Modi said during his visit he will also hold a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden, where they will discuss further consolidation of the multi-faceted bilateral relations.

“We will also continue our dialogue on regional developments and contemporary global issues,” he said.

Modi said he will be visiting Tokyo at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, and noted that in March 2022, he had hosted Kishida for the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit.

“During my visit to Tokyo, I look forward to continuing our conversation further, with an aim to strengthen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” he said.

In Japan, Modi said, he will also participate in the second in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit, which will provide an opportunity for the leaders of the four Quad countries to review the progress of initiatives taken by the grouping.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.

In his statement, the prime minister also said economic cooperation between India and Japan is an important aspect of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

“During the March Summit, PM Kishida and I had announced our intention to realize JPY 5 trillion in public and private investment and financing over the next five years from Japan to India,” Modi said.

(With PTI inputs)