US President Joe Biden remains dedicated to participating in this year's annual QUAD leadership summit, which will be hosted by India, according to a statement from the White House on Thursday.
“We're still committed to there being a Quad leader summit this year, but there's nothing on the calendar right now for it,” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters at a press briefing.
The QUAD, which includes Australia, Japan, India, and the US, was an initiative started by Biden. During his initial 100 days in office, he organized a virtual summit for QUAD leaders in 2020. Since then, the group has held annual summits on a rotating basis, with India set to host this year's event.
Kirby mentioned that with Biden not seeking re-election, new opportunities might arise that weren't previously available. “So we're all exploring what those opportunities can look like in terms of advancing his foreign policy agenda and national security opportunities here and around the world. But I don't have anything on the schedule to speak to now, but I mean, stay tuned,’ he said.
He further noted, “I think there'll be some opportunities that the president is going to want to explore. Look, I mean, we've still got a war in Ukraine, still got a war in Gaza, still got climate change to deal with. We've still got a very restless Indo-Pacific. I mean, I could go on and on. There's plenty of things for the national security team to try to continue to get done,” Kirby added in response to a query.
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