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The Quad alliance has emerged a ‘force for good’ and has been successful in coordinating actions in the areas of vaccine delivery, climate action, supply chain resilience, disaster response and economic cooperation despite the adverse circumstances created by the Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
“Quad nations, through their mutual cooperation, are encouraging the creation of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, which has been our collective objective to begin with,” Modi said at the Quad Summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Leaders of the three other Quad nations, including US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, also attended the summit.
The Quad four welcomed the progress on the expansion of J&J vaccine production at the Biological E facility in India under the Quad Vaccine Partnership. “....we look forward to the grant of WHO’s EUL approvals regarding the aforementioned vaccines in India. We celebrate the donation by the Quad to Cambodia and Thailand of WHO approved Made in India vaccines, together with Quad members’ other vaccine related support..,” according to the Quad Joint Leaders’ Statement issued after the meet.
On Ukraine crisis
Significantly, while the joint statement raised deep concerns about the conflict in Ukraine and the ongoing ``tragic humanitarian crisis’‘, it did not mention Russia in a possible accommodation of India’s neutral stand on the matter.
Biden, however, gave a strong statement against the Russian invasion in his speech at the Quad emphasising that countries were navigating a ``dark hour’‘ in their shared history as Russia’s “brutal and unprovoked war” against Ukraine had triggered a humanitarian catastrophe. “This is more than just a European issue...As long as Russia continues this war we are going to be partners and lead a global response,” Biden added.
The US President also underlined the importance of the Quad in responding to Covid-19, partnering on 5G supply chains and launching the Quad fellowship program.
Kishida said it was important for the leaders to get together to make a “firm commitment” to a free and open Indo-Pacific and spoke about climate change countermeasures, maritime issues and technology.
Albanesesaid Australia would take ambitious action on climate change, including fixing a new target to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, he added.
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