Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fly to Tokyo on Tuesday for his second in-person Quad summit.
He will also conduct bilateral meetings with US President Joseph Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated.
Mr. Modi will address a business conference and meet with members of the Indian community in Tokyo on May 23. The Quad summit and bilateral discussions will take place on May 24.
The Vision
“The next Quad Summit provides a chance for Leaders to exchange perspectives on developments in the Indo-Pacific region and contemporary global problems of mutual relevance,” stated the MEA in a statement.
“The Leaders will examine the status of Quad projects and Working Groups, identify new areas of cooperation, and give strategic leadership and vision for future collaboration,” the statement continued.
The Quad Summit is anticipated to assess Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and the impact of three months of Western sanctions.
India is the only member of the Quad that has not joined sanctions on Russia and has not publicly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The other Quad members, members of the G-7, and NATO have also pledged to cease their imports from Russia by the expected deadline.
India purchased approximately 40 million barrels more of Russian oil in March and April than in 2021. The issue of India’s prohibition on wheat exports has lately been raised by the US and the G-7, who has urged India to rethink.
MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India’s position on the wheat export ban had been outlined at the UN Security Council by Minister of State V. Muraleedharan quoted him on the importance of “equity, affordability, and accessibility” regarding food grains.
In response to criticism of India’s move, he emphasised, “Open markets must not become a reason to prolong unfairness and encourage prejudice.”
Vaccinations
In Tokyo, the Quad Summit will also assess the progress of working groups created a year ago to deal with vaccine distribution, vital technologies, cybersecurity, space, climate change, and other issues.
The Quad Vaccine Initiative’s plans for a billion US-developed and financed vaccine doses made in India and delivered by Japan and Australia by the end of 2022 have met with difficulty over indemnification and other concerns.
No vaccines have been supplied as part of the project allocated to Hyderabad-based Biological-E.
While the project has yet to take off, other vaccinations have been provided by Quad countries separately, according to the MEA Spokesperson.
It remains to be seen if the forthcoming Quad summit will see a “review” of the vaccine programme, given the logjam.
“Every country is doing everything it is capable of doing.
Yes, the initial aim was to have various mechanisms.
Still, the ultimate goal is to guarantee that vaccinations are given from the Quad umbrella to countries in need,” Mr. Bagchi said.
According to the MEA, Mr. Modi is scheduled to discuss the India-US Strategic Partnership during bilateral meetings with Mr. Biden.
The Australian general election is on May 21.
As a result, it is unclear whether the winner will attend the summit physically or virtually, signalling that much depends on how precise a margin of victory is.
According to the MEA statement, Prime Minister Modi and the Australian PM “are likely to review the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” if they meet.
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