US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday attended the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, where he hailed the forum for increasingly transforming from a platform for discussions into a mechanism for coordinated action against global challenges.
Speaking at the meeting, Rubio thanked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and the Indian government for hosting the summit and his bilateral engagements during his visit to India.
“I want to thank Minister Jaishankar and the Indian government for hosting us here, not just in the bilateral visit over the last three days, but for hosting this important gathering here again today,” Rubio said.
Referring to his early engagement with the grouping after assuming office, Rubio noted that the Quad reflected Washington’s strategic commitment to the partnership. “As I began as Secretary of State, and as has been pointed out earlier, my first meeting as Secretary of State was the Quad, within minutes of being sworn in. I thought that demonstrated our commitment to this process,” he said.
‘From A Forum To One Where We Actually Do Something’
Rubio said the four-member grouping had spent the last year focusing on making the Quad more action-oriented.
“Our goal collectively over the last year has been to turn this from a forum in which we meet and talk about problems to one where we actually do something about them. I think we can report to our people, respectively, that we are beginning to do that pretty aggressively in the areas of cooperation,” he said.
The US Secretary of State said recent global developments had made Quad cooperation even more relevant.
“It is also interesting that the areas that we are working together on have become even more relevant and more important because of recent events around the world,” he added.
Focus On Energy Security, Supply Chains
Rubio highlighted that each Quad member brings distinct strengths that can collectively help tackle major global challenges.
“The most interesting thing about the Quad is not simply that we are, it is a gathering of four strategic allies in which we come together to compare notes about areas of common interest,” he said.
He further stressed that the grouping was increasingly focusing on practical cooperation in areas such as humanitarian response, energy security and freedom of navigation.
“Not only is it increasingly becoming a forum by which we begin to take action, but each of these four nations represented here today bring unique capabilities that collectively we can bring to bear on some of most significant problems facing the world,” Rubio said.
He added that cooperation among Quad nations could also help diversify global supply chains and critical mineral access. “These are areas where all four of our countries, collectively and individually, can bring tremendous assets to bear in terms of solving these problems.”
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India, United States, Japan and Australia, and focuses on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
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