As US President Joe Biden hosts the first in-person quad summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, it is being learnt that the Quad is likely to announce new groups related to space, talk about mutual areas of interest and announce a fellowship for students and stress for a “free" Indo-Pacific region. Announcements on 5G and semiconductors are also likely.
Earlier reports had said that during the meeting the four countries will also talk about a Covid vaccines drive, regional infrastructure, climate change and securing supply chains for the semiconductors used in computer technology.
The fellowship will bring a hundred students in the next one year and a half to study in universities in subjects related to science and technology.
China isn’t officially on the agenda of the quad summit, but the four countries will likely stress backing for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. They are likely to take steps to support “a somewhat diverse and competitive market that produces secure, critical technologies that are essential for digital economies globally."
While PM Modi discussed semiconductors and 5G with Qualcomm CEO Cristian Cristiano Amon on Thursday, with Qualcomm saying likely to implement 5G-based tech in India, the Quad will also likely announce a supply chain initiative on semiconductors. A US official said, “The effort is really a detailed joint initiative to map overall capacity; identify, you know, respective vulnerabilities; and to take critical steps to bolster supply chain security, particularly."
The official said there could likely be an announcement on 5G deployment and diversification efforts as well. “And this is to support the critical role of Quad governments in fostering and promoting a diverse, resilient, secure telecommunications ecosystem," the official said.
This comes even as PM Modi met US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for bilateral talks. US Vice-President Kamala Harris took cognizance of Pakistan’s role as she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Harris referred to Pakistan’s role in in terrorism, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters.
“On terrorism, US VP Kamala Harris suo motu referred to Pakistan’s role in that regard. She said that there were terror groups working there. She asked Pakistan to take action so that these groups don’t impact US security and of India,” said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
Meanwhile, as the US has just been able to make things better over the uproar on the Australian nuclear submarine deal, officials were keen to stress that this was not a military alliance. AFP quoted a US official as saying, “It’s an informal grouping of democratic states… I think concerns have been dispelled and I believe at a general level this initiative is welcome across the region."
The official told AFP that vaccine delivery plans will also be among the major announcements.
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
First Published: Sept 24, 2021 9:29 PM IST
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