The first in-person summit of the leaders of the Quad is likely to be announced late on Friday after US President Joe Biden’s meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the White House, a senior Biden administration official said.
No specifics were given by the official who previewed the upcoming Biden-Suga meeting on background. But Japan has been known to be keen for an in-person summit - following the first summit held virtually in March - to take place on the sidelines of the upcoming G7 summit in the UK in June.
Nikkei news publication has reported that Suga plans to visit Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the US visit to lay the groundwork for the in-person summit.
The G7 will hold its 47th summit in Carbis Bay, a seaside resort in Cornwall, UK from June 11 to 13.
India and Australia, which form the four-nation Quad with the US and Japan, are not members of the G7, but they will attend the summit, along with South Korea, on the invitation from the UK, which has the presidency of the group this year.
“There will be discussion on the Quad. I think the two leaders are likely to discuss and announce when we’re likely to have a… four-person meeting. We’ll have more on that tomorrow,” the Biden administration official said while previewing Friday’s meeting.
{{/usCountry}}“There will be discussion on the Quad. I think the two leaders are likely to discuss and announce when we’re likely to have a… four-person meeting. We’ll have more on that tomorrow,” the Biden administration official said while previewing Friday’s meeting.
{{/usCountry}}Suga will be Biden’s first foreign guest at the White House after the latter took office in January.
The two leaders will also review progress on the vaccine initiative the Quad leaders announced at their virtual meeting in March at Biden’s initiative.
India is expected to produce up to 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines under a plan that is to be funded by the US and Japan. Australia will pick up the tab for the last-mile distribution.
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