Washington: US President Joe Biden will host a Quad leaders summit with leaders from Australia, India and Japan on September 21 in Delaware, the White House said on Thursday. "The Quad Leaders Summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Biden was the first American president to host a summit of the Quad leaders in 2021, with annual summits since then, as the US looked to pivot its foreign policy focus to the Indo-Pacific region to counter China. This will be the first time Biden has hosted foreign leaders in Delaware during his presidency, as he has been spending more time in his home state since dropping his bid for reelection in July.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden's decision to host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Wilmington was “a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders, and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries.”
“The Quad Leaders Summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas,” Jean-Pierre said.
What is Quad?
Formally the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the Quad began as a loose partnership after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, when the four countries joined together to provide humanitarian and disaster assistance to the affected region. It was formalized by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007, but then fell dormant for nearly a decade, particularly amid Australian concerns that its participation in the group would irritate China.
The group was resurrected in 2017, reflecting changing attitudes in the region toward China’s growing influence. Both the Trump and Biden administrations saw the Quad as key to a pivot toward placing more focus on the Indo-Pacific region, particularly as a counterweight to China’s assertive actions. The Quad leaders held their first formal summit in 2021 and met again virtually in March.
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