Quad Meeting and Indo-Pacific Cooperation Context: Japan’s Foreign Minister reaffirmed that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) continues to remain an important strategic platform despite concerns regarding its declining relevance. Critical Minerals as Top Agenda Cooperation in critical minerals required for green energy and advanced technologies will be a major focus of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Japan is already collaborating with India on critical mineral projects. Quad Summit Preparations The meeting will also help prepare for the next Quad Summit, which has not taken place since 2024 because of tensions between India and the United States. About QUAD The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly called the Quad, is a strategic partnership involving four nations — India, United States, Japan, and Australia. The main objective of the Quad is to strengthen regional stability, security, and economic collaboration across the Indo-Pacific region. The grouping regularly conducts ministerial and summit-level meetings to deliberate on issues such as maritime safety, infrastructure connectivity, emerging technologies, and resilient supply chains. The Quad first emerged in 2007 during informal discussions held alongside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played a key role in proposing the formation of the grouping. In 2012, Shinzo Abe introduced the idea of the “Democratic Security Diamond,” envisioning strategic cooperation among India, Japan, the United States, and Australia in the Indo-Pacific. In 2017, officials from the four countries held the first revived Quad discussions in Manila on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. In 2020, the India–US–Japan Malabar Naval Exercise was expanded to include Australia. This marked the first formal military engagement of all four Quad nations together since the grouping’s revival and their first combined naval exercise in more than ten years. In 2021, the leaders of the Quad countries met virtually and issued a…
