NEW DELHI: The Quad grouping sharpened its strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday as the foreign ministers of India, the US, Japan and Australia unveiled a set of initiatives aimed at strengthening regional energy resilience, maritime security, critical mineral supply chains and port infrastructure.
The Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held amid rising geopolitical competition and growing concerns over economic and energy vulnerabilities, signalled a broader push to institutionalise cooperation in major sectors while ensuring the bloc doesn’t get the label of a security alliance.
At the heart of the announcements was the launch of the Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, a framework to deepen cooperation in energy technology, policy coordination, and emergency response.
A joint statement said the initiative would seek to “recognize and leverage the unique resources and capabilities of each country’s energy sector”.
External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar described the discussions as “substantive and productive,” stressing the strategic importance of maritime collaboration among the four democracies. “Because we are four maritime democracies located at different ends of the Indo-Pacific, the exchange of perspectives was an exercise of considerable value,” Jaishankar said after the meeting.
The broad package of initiatives reflects the Quad’s evolving role into a platform for strategic economic coordination, resilience-building and infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific.
Critical mineral pact
India and the US signed a framework agreement on critical minerals and rare earths, to reduce dependence on China-dominated global supply chains. Separately, Quad partners India, US, Japan, and Australia announced plans to mobilise up to $20 bn to strengthen critical mineral supply chains