Biden to Skip India's Republic Day Celebration, Quad Summit Also Postponed

US President Joe Biden is expected to skip India’s Republic Day celebration in January, media reports said on Tuesday. His visit was part of the Quad Summit, which was expected to be held in January next year in India, but will now be held later in the year, people familiar with the developments told News18.

The people mentioned above said that authorities are looking for revised dates as the dates that were being considered do not work with all the Quad members. The Quad Summit 2023 took place in Japan’s Hiroshima. This was the third in-person summit of the Quad leaders. Quad leaders also met during the coronavirus pandemic but the meetings were held virtually.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, host Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and Biden.

During the 2023 Summit, several initiatives were declared by the four leaders which addressed climate change, sustainable development and building of sustainable infrastructure, undersea cables, investment in strategic technologies, data sharing on maritime domain awareness and stronger ties with Pacific and southern Pacific nations.

PM Modi emphasised the importance of consolidating Quad’s constructive agenda and delivering tangible outcomes for the region during the Hiroshima summit.

Following the leadership conference, a foreign ministers’ meeting was also held in New York City in September. During the meeting, the Quad partners reiterated their steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and ensured to take steps to keep it inclusive and resilient.

“We strongly support the principles of freedom, the rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes; and oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo. We seek to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific, where competition is managed responsibly,” the foreign ministers said in a joint statement following their meeting.

(with inputs from Shailendra Wangu)