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India may host Quad summit this year, foreign ministers likely to meet in US soon
Foreign ministers of the Quad nations are expected to meet in Washington in early July amid rising tensions in South Asia. The meet will set the stage for a major Quad summit which will be hosted in India later this year. read more
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Quad foreign ministers' meeting in Washington DC. (Photo: X/S Jaishankar)
Foreign ministers of the Quad nations, a group comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, are expected to meet in early July in Washington. The meeting comes against the backdrop of rising tensions in South Asia and China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The meeting, likely to set the stage for a larger summit later this year in India, comes amid a renewed push by the United States to strengthen the Quad. Leaders including US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are expected to attend the summit in India.
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The upcoming foreign ministers' meeting will help shape the summit's agenda, which is expected to focus on maritime security and disaster management, key priorities for India.
The US is already locked in a trade war with China, with President Trump threatening massive tariffs and adopting a hardline stance against Beijing.
Even after his second inauguration, a Quad meeting was held on 21 January, which was also attended by India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
The Quad was formed in 2007 and was revitalised under Trump's first presidency in 2017. The group serves as a strategic partnership committed to promoting a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Though its initiatives span critical and emerging technologies, health security, climate change, infrastructure, and cyber security, analysts see it as a grouping to counter China and its influence.
This is a developing story.

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