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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the sixth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware on 21 September 2024, hosted by the President of the United States of America, H.E. Mr. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Prime Minister of Australia, H.E. Mr. Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida also participated.
In his address, Prime Minister thanked President Biden for hosting the Summit and for his personal commitment to strengthen the Quad as a force for global good. Prime Minister stated that at a time when the world is ridden with tensions and conflicts, the coming together of Quad partners, with shared democratic ethos and values, is important for humanity. He emphasized that the group stood for upholding the international order based on the rule of law, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and with a commitment to pursue peaceful resolution of disputes. He further stated that a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific was a shared objective of the Quad partners. He underlined that the Quad was here to stay, to assist, to partner and to complement the efforts of Indo-Pacific countries.
Reiterating that the Quad remains to be a “force for global good,” the Leaders made the following announcements to address the development priorities of the Indo-Pacific region and of the global community as a whole:
* “Quad Cancer Moonshot”, a groundbreaking partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region by combating cervical cancer.
* “Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific” (MAITRI) to enable Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad initiatives.
* First-ever “Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission” in 2025 to improve interoperability and advance maritime safety.
* “Quad Ports of the Future Partnership” which will harness the Quad’s collective expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific.
* “Quad Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure” in the region and beyond.
* A “Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network Memorandum of Cooperation” to enhance resilience of Quad’s semiconductor supply chains.
* Collective Quad effort to boost energy efficiency, including deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable cooling systems in the Indo-Pacific region.
* India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.
* A new sub-category under the Quad STEM Fellowship, announced by India, for students of the Indo-Pacific region to pursue a 4-year bachelor’s level engineering programme at a Government of India funded technical institute.
The Leaders welcomed the next hosting of the Quad Leaders’ Summit by India in 2025. To take the Quad agenda forward, they adopted the Quad Wilmington Declaration.
PM’s Opening Remarks at the QUAD Leaders’ Summit
Your Excellencies,
President Biden,
Prime Minister Kishida,
and
Prime Minister Albanese.
At the outset of my third term, it gives me great pleasure to participate in today’s QUAD Summit alongside my friends. There could be no better place to celebrate the 20th anniversary of QUAD than President Biden’s own city, Wilmington. As Amtrak Joe, you have been associated with this city and “Delaware”, you have fostered a similar bond with the QUAD.
Under your leadership, the first Summit took place in 2021, and in such a brief time, we have unprecedentedly expanded our collaboration across all fronts. Your personal involvement has been instrumental in this achievement. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to your unwavering commitment to QUAD, your leadership, and your contribution.
Friends,
Our meeting is taking place at a time when the world is surrounded by tensions and conflicts. In such a situation, it is crucial for the QUAD to unite around our shared democratic values for the greater good of humanity. We are not against anyone. We all support a rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the peaceful resolution of all issues.
Free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific is our shared priority and shared commitment. We have collaboratively undertaken numerous positive and inclusive initiatives in areas such as Health, Security, Critical and Emerging Technologies, Climate Change, and Capacity Building. Our message is unequivocal: QUAD is here to stay, to assist, to partner, and to complement.
Once again, I would like to extend my greetings to President Biden and all my fellow colleagues. We look forward to hosting the QUAD Leaders’ Summit in India in 2025.
Thank you very much.
DISCLAIMER – This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.