Quad to involve more nations in Indo-Pacific

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, May 20

A meeting of Quad leaders in Japan on Saturday decided to involve more countries in keeping an eye on the Indo-Pacific as well as announced a number of initiatives that include strengthening the security of undersea cables and an investment platform to encourage forays by Quad companies in strategic technologies.

The third in-person Quad Summit took place in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Besides PM Narendra Modi, it was attended by US President Joe Biden and the PMs of Australia and Japan, Anthony Albanese and Fumio Kishida, respectively. Prime Minister Modi also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy among several world leaders, including from France, Japan, Vietnam and Korea, on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

The PM conveyed India’s clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward, stated an official statement. “He said that for a resolution of the situation, India and Prime Minister personally would do everything within our means,” said an official readout of the meeting.

Zelenskyy gave a detailed briefing to PM Modi on the ‘Ukrainian Peace Formula’ and invited him to join the initiative, said the Ukrainian side. Zelenskyy indicated that his side needed demining equipment and mobile hospitals. The latter is a controversial aspect as Moscow tends to view mobile hospitals as dual use items, which could be used by battle formations. The Prime Minister noted that the conflict in Ukraine has had a significant impact on the entire world. He, however, stressed that for him, this was not a political or economic issue, but one of humanity and human values, said the Indian readout.