PM Modi calls for concrete, practical forms of cooperation within Quad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday participated in a virtual summit of Quad leaders, along with US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The meeting holds significance as the world is witnessing the escalating tensions in Ukraine following Russian invasion.

At the virtual summit, the leaders reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the in-person Quad Summit of September 2021, which was held in Washington DC.

During the meeting, the Quad leaders also discussed the developments in Ukraine, including the humanitarian implications. The prime minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy, according to an official statement.

The leaders agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later this year, it stated.

PM Modi underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He also called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity, and capacity-building.

The leaders also deliberated on other topical issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands.  PM Modi reiterated the importance of adhering to the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Quad leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders' Summit in Japan.

Meanwhile, Russian forces pressed their war on Ukraine, seizing a strategic seaport even as the two sides meet in Belarus for a second round of face-to-face discussions since the invasion began eight days ago.

In a video address to the nation earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to keep up their resistance, but didn't comment on whether the Russians have seized any cities.

However, the Russian military now says it controls Kherson, and local Ukrainian officials have confirmed that Russian forces have taken over local government headquarters in this Black Sea port of 280,000 people - the first major city to fall since the start of the war.

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