S Jaishankar Highlights Importance of Partnerships at Quad Meeting in Tokyo

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke at the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tokyo, emphasizing the need for trusted partnerships to ensure stability. He noted that the Quad’s commitment to global good extends beyond the region and highlighted the importance of political understanding, economic growth, and technology collaborations.

Jaishankar stated, “It’s very good to meet again here in Tokyo. Our last quad foreign ministers meeting was ten months ago in New York. In that period, we have met each other bilaterally or on the sidelines of other events. Our systems, however, led by our Sherpas, have been continuously interacting. So there is much today to talk about, to agree on and to plan ahead.”

He added, “The commitment to doing global good that we have all undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region. It is therefore essential that our political understanding strengthens, our economic partnerships grow, our technology collaborations expand, and our people-to-people comfort intensifies. Our meeting should send a clear message that the quad is here to stay, here to do, and here to grow.”

Jaishankar also mentioned the challenges of ensuring global economic growth and the importance of resilient supply chains and transparent digital partnerships. He said, “These are not easy times. A major challenge is to ensure global economic growth while also de-risking it. Supply chains are a particular focus for resilience, just as we push for trusted and transparent digital partnerships. The march of technology has also acquired extraordinary proportions, holding possibilities of the very manner in which we live, think and act. In a sense, we are in the midst of a re-globalization.”

He concluded by stressing the Quad’s collective efforts to ensure security against disruptions and uphold a rules-based order. “At the same time, it is only our collective endeavours that can prove the international system against disruptions, man-made or natural. But we have significant additional responsibilities as well as political democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies. There is the key question of upholding a rules-based order. It is only our collaboration that can ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, open, stable, secure and prosperous,” he said.

The Quad, a diplomatic partnership between four nations, is committed to supporting an open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. This meeting will discuss regional and international issues and guide future collaboration to achieve the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region by addressing contemporary priorities of the region through the delivery of public goods.