President Biden will host the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for a summit of the Quad alliance later this month in Delaware, the White House said Thursday, the first time Biden will welcome foreign leaders to his home state.
Biden will meet Sept. 21 in Wilmington with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The four nations make up the Quad alliance-a group that has been one of the key elements in the Biden administration's push to counter Chinese power.
This will be President Biden's first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president-a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders, and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The leaders are expected to discuss health security, natural disaster response, maritime security, technology, climate and cybersecurity, during the summit, marking the fourth in-person gathering among Quad leaders since Biden came into office.
Biden has tried to rejuvenate the Quad alliance in his presidency as part of an effort to create a counterbalance against China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Plans for a Quad summit to take place in Australia last year were scrapped after Biden nixed his trip to the continent so he could head back to Washington to negotiate over the debt ceiling. The leaders huddled instead at the 2023 Group of Seven Summit.
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