First-ever 'Quad' head of states to meet soon

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) may take place soon indicated the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Morrison when asked by reporters about Quad meeting in a news conference, he said "This is one of the first things President Biden and I discussed when we spoke some weeks ago. And I spoke to Vice-President Kamala Harris just this past week."

Morrison further said "The Quad is very central to the US and our thinking about the region, and looking at the Indo-Pacific also through the prism of our ASEAN partners and their vision of the Indo-Pacific. So, yes, the Quad is very central, I think, to our ongoing arrangements."

"The President and indeed, the Secretary of State, have made clear that their re-engagement in multilateral orgsations, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, is key to building stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific. We share that view. We encourage that view. And we strongly welcome that view. And so I am looking forward to that first gathering of the Quad leaders. It will be the first-ever such gathering," added Morrison.

Quad is a security grouping that is seen by many analysts as a group of democracies India, Japan, Australia and the United States coming together to counterbalance China in the Asia-Pacific region.

Government sources here told that there is no formal decision yet on the final dates of the quad summit, foreign ministers of quad met virtually last month.

Australian Prime Minister further said " I have already had bilateral discussions about this with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yoshihide Suga, the Prime Minister of Japan. And of course, we are looking forward to those discussions and follow-up face-to-face meetings as well."

"This will become a feature of Indo-Pacific engagement. But it's not going to be a big bureaucracy with a big secretariat and those sorts of things. It will be four leaders, four countries, working together constructively for the peace, prosperity and stability of the Indo-Pacific, which is good for everyone in the Indo-Pacific. It's particularly good for our ASEAN friends, and those throughout the South-West Pacific, to ensure that they can continue with their own sovereignty and their own certainty for their own futures." Morrison added.

( With inputs from ANI )