Advocating for upholding a rules-based international order free from coercion, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday said since the last interaction of Quad foreign ministers meeting last February, the "geopolitical and geo-economic global scenario has become more complex."
"As leading democracies, we pursue our shared vision of upholding a rules-based international order free from coercion...based on respect for territorial integrity sovereignty, rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas and peaceful resolution," said Jaishankar at the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
"As pandemic continues to impact us, we have undertaken collective efforts to address global health security, Quad vaccine initiative and our collective vaccine delivery. These have been very crucial for countries in Indo-Pacific to meet these challenges," he added.
Australia is hosting India, Japan and the United States for the fourth Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Melbourne on Friday and the top diplomats are seeking to bolster cooperation in areas including economy, security, coronavirus pandemic and free and open Indo-Pacific.
Speaking before Jaishankar, the Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Quad partnership is committed to openness, transparency and to practical cooperation to support regional recovery in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Payne said the grouping is about "what four democracies can bring to support the priorities of Indo-Pacific partners. "In response to the strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region, we are both working together to amply and coordinate responses to the most pressing issue of concern to nations across our region."
She added Quad's objective is to give their region strategic choices and build the resilience of all states.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a partnership of four nations, each of whom shares a commitment to openness, transparency and challenges coming out of the current global order.
This is the first time Quad Foreign Ministers are meeting since the two Quad Summits last year.
( With inputs from ANI )
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