India planning Quad leaders meeting in Japan according to Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Thursday, unveiled India’s plans for a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders meeting in Japan. The meeting would be held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.

Briefing the media on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour of three nations, the Foreign Secretary said, “We are also planning Quad leaders meeting in Hiroshima with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President of the US Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, and of course our Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The announcement was made following the cancellation of the Quad Summit, which was set to take place on May 24 in Australia.

Following the cancellation of US Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Australia, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday that the Quad leaders meeting scheduled for Sydney next week would not take place.

Kwatra also mentioned that PM Modi will be revealing a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima during the special briefing. The Foreign Secretary provided information regarding PM Modi’s trip to Japan, stating that PM Modi will go to Hiroshima, Japan tomorrow morning, May 19, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, to attend the G7 Summit, to which India has been invited as a guest nation. The Prime Minister’s three-country trip would begin here.

“The broad terms of the G7 Summit preferences, in particular regarding their outreach with the invited guest countries, are one-on nuclear disarmament, two-on economic resilience and three-economic security, fourth-regional issues, fifth-climate and energy, food and health and development,” Kwatra told.

Digitization and Science and technology to be the highlights of the G7: Foreign Secretary

“There are other priorities also, such as digitization and science and technology, which would get highlighted in various sessions during the G Seven Summit,” the Foreign Secretary further added.

The participation of India will be arranged around three official sessions, the Foreign Secretary added. The first two would happen on May 20, while the third one would happen on May 21. The first foundational sessions dealing with food, health, development, and gender equality are the two scheduled for the 20th. Climate, energy and the environment will be the topics of the second session, and a peaceful, stable, and prosperous world will be the focus of the third session on May 21.

The third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation will be hosted by the Prime Minister and his colleague from Papua New Guinea, James Marape, on May 22.

The next day, the Prime Minister will meet with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea before beginning his bilateral contacts with the leader of the Pacific island nation. During his stay at Port Moraspi, the Prime Minister will be making his first trip to that nation.

Kwatra added that while in Papua New Guinea, the Prime Minister would also have a meeting with the Prime Minister of New Zealand. After Chris Hipkins was sworn in as the new prime minister of New Zealand previously in January, this would be the two leaders’ first encounter.