Quad Leaders Summit hosted by Biden to be held in Washington on Sept 24

US President Joe Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad Leaders summit at the White House on September 24. For the summit, Biden will be hosting Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced in a statement on Monday. This would be the first face-to-face Quad Summit after Quad leaders held a virtual meeting in March. 

"President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will host the first-ever Quad Leaders Summit at the White House on September 24. President Biden is looking forward to welcoming to the White House Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan", Psaki said in a statement. 

First-ever in-person Quad Leaders Summit

According to the statement of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the Quad Summit will be focused on deepening ties and enhancing practical cooperation in areas such as fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders during the summit will also address the issue of the climate crisis. The leaders of the four nations will discuss partnering on "emerging technologies and cyberspace and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific".

Jen Psaki in the statement said, "The Biden-Harris Administration has made elevating the Quad a priority, as seen through the first-ever Quad Leaders-level engagement in March, which was virtual, and now this Summit, which will be in-person". White House statement highlighted that hosting the leaders of the Quad shows the priority of Biden-Harris Administration of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, which includes "through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century".

It is pertinent to mention here that Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a strategic forum that comprises India, Japan, Australia and the United States of America. According to ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the US to meet President Joe Biden and attend the in-person Quad summit. Reportedly, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will also be heading to the US to participate in the Quad summit. The four leaders during the first Quad meeting in March had called for a free, open and rule-based Indo-Pacific region.

Image: AP/PTI

Inputs from ANI