Munmun Kaur
Published On: February 15, 2022 at 15:52 IST
Days after the Foreign Ministers of countries of Quad met in Melbourne, the White House said that India is a driving force of the Quad and an engine for regional growth.
The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India, US, Japan, and Australia. The Foreign Ministers of these countries had met during the Melbourne Summit and discussed the destabilizing role of China in the Indo-Pacific region and Russian aggression in Ukraine. US Secretary of State Tony Blinken was also part of the discussion.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the press that,
“India is a like-minded partner and leader in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, active in and connected to Southeast Asia, a driving force of the Quad, and an engine for regional growth and development.”
Pierre further talked about the Summit and said that it was an opportunity to discuss Russia’s ongoing threat to Ukraine. There was discussion about the threat that Russia’s aggression poses not only to Ukraine but to the entire international rules-based order, which has provided a foundation for decades of shared security and prosperity for the region and around the globe.
Pierre also told the reporters about the future plans of the US to continue building a strategic partnership with India to promote stability in South Asia, collaborate in new domains such as health, space, cyberspace, deepen the economic and technology cooperation, and contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific.