The White House on Monday said that United States President Joe Biden will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with other Quad leaders from Australia and Japan on September 24.
This will be the first in-person summit of the leaders from Quad countries, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga are expected to be in the US next week to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A virtual meeting between the leaders of the Quad countries was held back in March, where they discussed China’s growing power and sought to enhance their cooperation. During the same meeting, the leaders pledged to work together on COVID-19 vaccines and climate change.
"Hosting the leaders of the Quad demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration's priority of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, including through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century," Psaki said in the statement.
In a challenge to compete with China, Joe Biden announced a big budget for infrastructure in the US and asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson along with other democratic countries to upgrade their infrastructure plan to rival China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative, which involves projects from East Asia to Europe.
Also Read | Iran to maintain 'ordinary, technical' cooperation with IAEA
Psaki said the Quad Leaders would "be focused on deepening our ties and advancing practical cooperation on areas such as combating COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific." Infrastructure would be amongst a range of topics that will be discussed at the in-person summit, a senior US official said.
The in-person Quad meeting will come at a significant time as Biden pulled out the American troops from Afghan soil last mo
nth in a chaotic manner. US officials have said ending America's longest war will allow the administration to divert resources and attention to tackling China-related issues.
