Tokyo/New Delhi: It is only the collaboration between the Quad countries that can ensure the Indo-Pacific remains free, open, secure and prosperous, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday at his meeting with the foreign ministers of the US, Japan and Australia, amid China’s increasing hegemonistic activities in the region.
In his opening remarks at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo, the EAM said the Quad’s commitment to doing global good has a resonance far beyond the Indo-Pacific region.
The EAM remarked that the four met in this format 10 months ago in New York, but during the period the ministers have met each other bilaterally or on the sidelines of other events, and their Sherpas have also been continuously interacting.
“These are not easy times. A major challenge is to ensure global economic growth, while also de-risking it.
“Supply chains are a particular focus for resilience, just as we push for trusted and transparent digital partnerships. The march of technology has also acquired extraordinary proportions, holding possibilities of the very manner in which we live, think and act.
“In a sense, we are in the midst of a re-globalization. At the same time, it is only our collective endeavours that can proof the international system against disruptions, man-made or natural,” the EAM remarked.
“But we have significant additional responsibilities as well. As political democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, there is the key question of upholding a rules-based order.
“It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure and prosperous. The commitment to doing global good that we have all undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region,” he said.
He said that it is essential that the political understanding between the four countries strengthens, and their economic partnerships grow, and technology collaborations expand and their people-to-people comfort intensifies.
“Our meeting should send a clear message, that the Quad is here to stay, here to do and here to go,” Jaishankar said.
The other ministers at the meeting were US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Australia’s Penny Wong.
