Quad Leaders' Summit - Jaishankar's Tokyo Visit
Quad Summit Likely in November
A news report by the Hindustan Times suggests that the Quad Leaders’ Summit is likely to happen in November. At this year’s summit — that New Delhi will host — the Quad is looking to provide deliverables focused on economic security initiatives, including critical minerals, resilient supply chains and infrastructure projects. Concerning critical minerals, the focus would be on sourcing rare earths.
Another key focus area this year will be maritime security, where the Quad members are working to build the capacity of partners across the Indo-Pacific region to bolster maritime domain awareness and to ensure that the region’s waters are used according to international law.
Jaishanar’s Tokyo Visit
Visiting Tokyo last week, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that the solutions India and Japan sought — nationally and for the region — lie in their activities together, especially in the Quad, and that both are convergent on the “big picture”.
Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa, discussed steps to enhance the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, including discussions regarding trade, investment, infrastructure and technology collaboration, developmental coordination, defence and security cooperation, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
See Jaishankar's full statements and remarks here.
Meeting Jaishankar, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said India and Japan’s vision for the Indo-Pacific converged, and “expressed his desire to advance cooperation” within the region.
What we’re reading this week
What binds the Quad? Read this piece by Bharat Sharma in Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/what-binds-quad
Read this piece in the South China Morning Post, focusing on US commitments to the Quad: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3254709/quad-summit-delay-sparks-fears-over-us-commitment-asia-pacific-amid-competing-priorities