At the invitation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will travel to the United States from June 30 to July 2 in order to attend the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (QFMM), which is set for July 1, an official announced on Sunday.
“The Quad Foreign Ministers will build upon the discussions held during the last QFMM, which took place in Washington on January 21 this year,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
In the lead-up to the Quad Leaders’ Summit, which India will host, they will discuss regional and global issues, especially those pertaining to the Indo-Pacific, and assess the status of different Quad initiatives. According to the MEA release, the Ministers are also anticipated to discuss fresh ideas for furthering the common goal of an open and free Indo-Pacific.
On June 30, EAM Jaishankar will also open an exhibition called “The Human Cost of Terrorism” at the UN headquarters in New York.
“The Exhibition will highlight the devastating toll of heinous terrorist acts around the world, and the steps taken by the international community to combat terrorism,” said the statement.
Next Tuesday in Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host the next QFMM, which will also feature Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi.
The Quad foreign ministers conference, which was held the day after President Donald Trump was sworn in, was Rubio’s first international engagement following his January 21 inauguration.
The summit next week “builds on that momentum to advance a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific,” stated Thomas Pigott, the Department of State’s principal deputy spokesperson.
“Strength, peace, and prosperity are the hallmarks of American leadership,” he declared.
S. Jaishankar had wrote on X that he spoke with Wong over the phone on Thursday in order to be ready for the Quad summit.
The ministers will meet for the first time after the Pahalgam attack at the Quad conference.
S. Jaishankar will open an exhibition at the United Nations on “The Human Cost of Terrorism” on Monday before departing for Washington.
It will “highlight the devastating toll of heinous terrorist acts around the world,” according to India’s UN mission.
It will occur one day prior to Pakistan assuming the Security Council’s rotational presidency.
The Quad meeting next week is anticipated to set the stage for the summit that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host, which will bring US President Donald Trump to India along with Prime Ministers Shigeru Ishiba of Japan and Anthony Albanese of Australia.
PM Modi expressed his excitement about hosting Trump at the summit during their February meeting.
As China’s threat loomed, the first foreign affairs meeting following Trump’s inauguration demonstrated his administration’s regional priorities.
But the focus of the world shifted to Ukraine and the Middle East.
For the time being, the Israeli-Iranian crisis seems to have subsided, which has allowed some time to focus on the Indo-Pacific, where China presents a threat to the countries in the region.
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