Senior officials from the four-member countries of the Quad grouping on Thursday discussed ways to advance cooperation in areas including maritime and cyber-security, counter-terrorism, higher education, climate change, critical and emerging technologies and humanitarian aid in order to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Officials from India, Australia, Japan and the US who met through video conferencing also exchanged views on the wide-ranging impact of COVID-19 in the Indo-Pacific region, and the importance of collaborative efforts to contain the pandemic, ensure health security and a quick economic recovery. In this context they reviewed the progress of the Quad Vaccine initiative which was announced by the leaders, with the objective of enhancing vaccine production and equitable access, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"The officials also discussed issues of common interest and explored possibilities of collaboration in resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, infrastructure and connectivity, higher education, climate change and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," the statement said.
The officials also welcomed the fact that a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" is a vision for the peace and prosperity of the region and its importance in the post-COVID world is increasing and that this vision has spread in the international community, including ASEAN and Europe.
They reaffirmed the importance of broadening cooperation with more countries for its further achievement. In this regard, the officials reaffirmed their strong support for ASEAN's unity and centrality as well as the ASEAN-led regional architecture, and their full support for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), the statement added.
Recalling their shared values and principles, the Officials reaffirmed the commitment towards a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on respect for international law. They reiterated their firm support for ASEAN centrality, ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and ASEAN-led mechanisms in the regional architecture.
The Officials look forward to continuing regular consultations and the next Foreign Ministers' Meeting later this year.
The Indian side was represented by Vani Rao who is the Joint Secretary (Americas) and Additional Secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava.
( With inputs from ANI )
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