PM Modi to attend QUAD virtual meeting on 'Indo-Pacific'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will participate in a virtual gathering of QUAD leaders. The meeting will be attended by US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in addition to PM Modi. The QUAD is a group of four nations — India, the United States, Australia, and Japan — that share democratic, pluralistic, and market-based characteristics and have developing convergences in strategic and security perspectives, particularly in the Indo-Pacific area.

"After the September 2021 Summit in Washington, DC, the leaders will have the opportunity to continue their discourse. They will share thoughts and analyses on major events in the Indo-Pacific," according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.

The conference takes place against the backdrop of rising tensions over Russia's increasing invasion on Ukraine. India has so far maintained its neutral posture, abstaining from voting against Russia on a UN General Assembly resolution on Wednesday. This is India's third abstention from Russia's military incursion in Ukraine in less than a week.

Despite India's opposition, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.At the most recent meeting, the four countries pledged to work together to ensure the Indo-Pacific and global peace and prosperity, as top leaders of the Quad grouping announced a slew of new initiatives to tackle common challenges, amidst muscle flexing by an assertive China in the strategic region.

Also Read | For Quad's sake, can India keep 'abstaining' from Russia-Ukraine crisis?

Also Read: India abstains again, explains why it did not vote on UNSC resolution on Ukraine