NEW DELHI: The Quad grouping of India, the US, Australia, and Japan held an official-level counterterrorism dialogue in New Delhi this week, even as key details of the upcoming Quad Leaders’ Summit remain unresolved.
The Ministry of External Affairs informed Parliament that the summit’s dates, agenda, deliverables, and logistical arrangements are still being finalised in consultation with all Quad partners.
India is set to host the summit, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had formally invited then–US President Donald Trump during his visit to Washington in February this year.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kriti Vardhan Singh noted that the timing of Trump’s visit is also linked to ongoing India–US trade negotiations, including discussions on US tariffs of up to 50 per cent on certain Indian goods tied to Russian energy imports.
The two-day meeting of the Quad Counter Terrorism Working Group in New Delhi focused on expanding cooperation against terrorism across the Indo-Pacific region.
The Quad partners condemned terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, and expressed condolences for the November 10 terror attack near Delhi’s Red Fort, which left 15 people dead and many injured.
In a joint statement, the Quad called for the perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of the attack to be brought to justice and urged all UN member states to cooperate in this effort.
The partners also exchanged assessments of the evolving terrorism threat landscape, discussed the full spectrum of counterterrorism measures, and explored strategies to address emerging challenges.
The statement underscored the importance of maintaining an open and secure Indo-Pacific and reaffirmed the grouping’s commitment to strengthening cooperation in multilateral fora. It also highlighted the value of continued intelligence sharing on terrorist networks, organisations, and their proxies as part of a coordinated approach to counterterrorism.
The dialogue reflects the Quad’s growing emphasis on security cooperation while laying the groundwork for the upcoming leaders’ summit, which is expected to shape the agenda for regional security and broader strategic collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.