External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday said the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi was “productive” and announced several major initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Addressing the media alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi after the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Jaishankar outlined key outcomes of the discussions.
In a post on X after the meeting, EAM Jaishankar said the Quad nations had agreed on an Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Initiative and the creation of a Common Operating Picture in the maritime domain to strengthen regional maritime cooperation and security.
He said the grouping would also consider establishing an expert panel on port infrastructure, collaborate on a pilot port project in Fiji and work together on undersea cable connectivity initiatives.
The External Affairs Minister further announced that the Quad countries had finalised the Quad Critical Minerals Framework aimed at strengthening cooperation in critical mineral supply chains. He also revealed that India and the United States had signed a separate bilateral Critical Minerals Framework agreement.
“QUAD is working with other like-minded countries in this sector,” EAM Jaishankar said, highlighting the growing strategic importance of critical minerals in global supply chains and emerging technologies.
Another major outcome of the meeting was the launch of the Quad Indo-Pacific Energy Security Initiative, which will focus on cooperation in technology, energy management, policy coordination, international market analysis and emergency response exercises.
Earlier, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the meeting provided an opportunity for the Quad foreign ministers to review progress on ongoing initiatives, advance cooperation across priority areas and exchange views on developments in the Indo-Pacific and other issues of mutual interest.
India hosted the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday under the chairmanship of EAM Jaishankar amid growing geopolitical focus on the Indo-Pacific region and rising regional security challenges.
