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'Given the turbulent times, key for Quad to…': Jaishankar
EAM Jaishankar said the Indo-Pacific Quad meet is also an opportunity to discuss how to strengthen the UN-led multilateral system.
External affairs minister S Jaishankaar on Friday said it was important for the four-nation QUAD grouping to go further in constructive agenda given the turbulent times.
In his opening address at the at Indo-Pacific Quad meet in New York, Jaishankar said, “It is particularly important that we, the Quad, go further in constructive agenda we've set for ourselves – that we work together on delivery of public goods, our efforts and particularly what we're signing today."
The four-nation grouping signed the Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief Guidelines at the meeting of their foreign ministers, a move that Jaishankar said in “extremely timely”. "The HADR partnership which we finalised in Tokyo is extremely timely,” he said as the world is going through a very difficult period..
“Today, I think this is also an opportunity for us together to discuss how to strengthen the UN-led multilateral system,” the EAM said.
He further said there were other initiatives in the making, some a little further in pipeline like STEM fellowship. “We're working on economic framework though we've other partners beyond Quad on it, on maritime domain awareness. Great idea to meet regularly on sidelines of the UNGA in our respective countries too,” the top minister added.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the meeting is evidence that the Quad is getting stronger. “Strengthening our multilateral cooperation. I think our countries know very well that the significant challenges that we face as well as the opportunities that are before us demand more than ever that we work together,” he said.
The Quad grouping comprises Japan, India, Australia and the United States. The four countries had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the "Quad" or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
(With agency )
