Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in Quad leaders' virtual meeting today, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The QUAD is a strategic security dialogue between the United States, India, Japan and Australia. All the heads of the member countries participate in today's meeting.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate along with US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison, and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida in a Quad Leaders' virtual meeting today," the MEA said.
"They will exchange views and assessments about important developments in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad Leaders will also review ongoing efforts to implement the Leaders’ initiatives announced as part of the Quad's contemporary and positive agenda," the MEA statement added.
The leaders had last met in September 2021 in Washington.
Today's meeting assumes significance as it takes place in the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's assault on Ukraine appears to become the largest European conflict in decades as it entered the eighth day today. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the objective of this military operation is to demilitarise Ukraine which has been growing its ties with the West. Putin wants Ukraine not to join NATO, a powerful military alliance of 30 nations, including the United States.
Quad was set up in 2007. The four member countries participate in joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. The grouping is widely seen as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power with Beijing calling it 'Asian NATO'.
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