The Quad leaders, who met for their second in-person meeting in Japan, vowed to work together for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to fight climate change, as they met for talks aimed at standing up to an increasingly assertive China.
United States President Joe Biden, at the opening of talks with the leaders of three "close democratic partners", including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as not just a European issue but a global one.
Joe Biden, who is a leader of the Quad group of countries, said that the summit is “not just a passing fad but it means business," asserting that the four leaders of the grouping are here to get things done for the region and that he is proud of what they are building together.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australia's newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the second in-person meeting of Quad leaders here during which they exchanged views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest.
While welcoming PM Modi to the Quad summit, which is being conducted in Japan, US President Joe Biden said that it was “wonderful to see him in person again.”
While condemning the situation between Russia and Ukraine, Biden said, “Russia’s assault of Ukraine only heightens the importance of those goals of fundamental principles of international order, territorial integrity, and sovereignty. International law, human rights must always be defended regardless of where they’re violated in the world.”
Meanwhile, PM Modi appreciated the decision of the Quad to focus on the Indo-Pacific region, saying that the group is “moving ahead with a constructive agenda” for the region.
While talking about the contributions of India to the world, PM Modi further said, “We have increased coordination in areas of vaccine delivery, climate action, supply chain resilience, and economic cooperation.”
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Attending the event to launch the IPEF, Prime Minister Modi said that the announcement of IPEF is a declaration of a collective desire to make the Indo-Pacific region an engine of global economic growth.
The prime minister also called for finding common and creative solutions to tackle the economic challenges of the Indo-Pacific region.
(With inputs from Reuters, PTI)
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