US President Joe Biden cited taking the Quad to the “next level” among the major foreign policy achievements of his outgoing administration and noted that hosting the leaders at his home for the last summit showed “we’re really friends.”
Biden said on Monday that he had strengthened America's bilateral and multilateral alliances and partnerships, including NATO and the Quad; formed new ones, such as AUKUS with the United Kingdom and Australia; and weakened America's adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran.
He also spent considerable time discussing his decision to withdraw the US from Afghanistan, ending the country's longest war.
“The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago,” Biden said in a speech at the State Department.
“America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker.”
“I’ve taken Quad to the next level,” Biden said, speaking specifically of the group the US forms with India, Australia and Japan.
He said that the last summit of the four leaders of the group would be held in New York during the UN meetings in September. But then they agreed on holding at his home in Delaware.
"Why? So we can now, then people know we're really friends," he ended.
He hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at his home and school in Wilmington.
Indeed, Biden did take the group to the next level. Having resurrected the group in 2017, the administration of President Donald Trump pushed it to the level of foreign minister. One of the first acts of President Biden after entering the White House in 2021 was taking it to the level of leaders. The group has since met at the summit level several times - virtually and in person.
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