The leaders of the U.S., India, Australia, and Japan made short public remarks at the White House as part of their Quad heads of state and government meeting. President Joe Biden laid out his priorities for the group: a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” a vaccination drive largely including India, climate change, and person-to-person exchanges in the form of STEM opportunities in the U.S. for young people from other Quad countries.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid out different priorities. (He spoke in Hindi, and the only available English transcript is on the White House website.) Picking up on President Biden’s beginning by pointing to the 2004 creation of the Quad in the aftermath of the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami that swept the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister stressed that the present priorities should be providing vaccines for the world, moving forward on positive agendas, such as supply chains, security, and technology. “Excellencies, we are united by our democratic values and our commitment to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Our agenda today — covering areas like vaccines, climate change, and emerging technologies — make the Quad a force for global good. I see this positive vision as an extension of India’s ancient philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which regards the world as one family. We will work together, closer than ever before, for advancing our shared values and promoting a secure, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” he said in part. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/03/12/remarks-by-president-biden-prime-minister-modi-of-india-prime-minister-morrison-of-australia-and-prime-minister-suga-of-japan-in-virtual-meeting-of-the-quad/)
On cue, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke next, about a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” the value of democracy, the proportion of vaccinations, and cybersecurity.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also spoke of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” under the “rule of law” and thanked the U.S. for ending its ban on import of food products from Fukushima, where the tsunami did some of the worst damage.
