'Recommitting To Promote Free, Open, Rules-based Order': Quad Leaders Issue Joint Statement

'Thanks to the Quad Vaccine Partnership’s financing of increased manufacturing capacity at Biological E LTD, additional production in India will come online later this year,’ said the joint statement.

President Joe Biden walks to the Quad summit with, from left, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, to the East Room of the White House. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: The heads of the Quad members Australia, India, Japan, and the United States took out a joint statement enumerating their commitment to their partnership and creating a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The statement which has been released during their first in-person summit held in the United States.

It covers several significant issues including climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Quad has also reiterated its commitment to Afghanistan and said that counter-terrorism activities will be bolstered.

Highlights of the joint statement

• Quad members have said that they ‘recommit to promoting the free, open, rules-based order’ in the Indo-pacific region. In their statement, they also said, ‘We stand for the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity of states.’
• The current situation of Afghanistan was addressed in their statement and the Quad has said they will coordinate and support diplomatically. They have also assured that will ‘deepen counter-terrorism and humanitarian cooperation in the months ahead.’
• They have also reiterated their support to ASEAN countries, ‘We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality and for ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and we underscore our dedication towards working with ASEAN and its member states.’
• The Quad also addressed the Covid-19 pandemic and said that through their ‘Quad Vaccine Experts Group’ they have been able to mitigate pandemic diplomatically. They have also said that additional vaccine doses will also be produced by India later this year. ‘Thanks to the Quad Vaccine Partnership’s financing of increased manufacturing capacity at Biological E LTD, additional production in India will come online later this year,’ said the joint statement.
• The members have also written about strengthening their science and Technology (S&T) cooperation especially in the area of ‘clinical trials and genomic surveillance’ to further speed up efforts to end the pandemic.
• The Quad has also addressed the climate crisis and said the countries will work together to keep the Paris-aligned temperature limits within reach. They have said that efforts will be taken to limit temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and also update about the ambitious NDCs by COP26. They also reaffirmed their aim of achieving global net-zero emissions by 2050.
• The member countries have also decided to combat cyber threats together. In the statement, they said ‘We begin new cooperation in cyberspace and pledge to work together to combat cyber threats, promote resilience, and secure our critical infrastructure.’