Quad is a partnership with three of Australia’s closest partners and friends, Marise Payne said

Ahead of hosting Foreign Ministers of India, Japan and US for the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting to be held on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that the four countries have delivered more than 505 million Covid-19 vaccine doses under their pledge to donate more than 1.3 billion doses globally.

“This Friday in Melbourne I will host my counterparts from India, Japan and the United States for the fourth Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting,” Payne said in a statement on Thursday.

“I look forward to welcoming Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa, and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss our positive and ambitious agenda in support of a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” she stated.

According to the Australian Minister, the Quad is a partnership with three of Australia’s closest partners and friends, each of whom share a commitment to openness and transparency.

“Together we are a vital network of liberal democracies committed to practical cooperation and to ensuring all Indo-Pacific nations, large and small, are able to make their own strategic decisions, free from coercion,” she added.

“We will continue to work to deepen this practical cooperation, including to support our region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Payne assured.

“We will discuss our work together on vaccine distribution in our region, cyber and critical technology, countering disinformation, counterterrorism, maritime security, humanitarian and disaster response, and climate change,” she pointed out.

“As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, our four countries have delivered more than 505 million vaccine doses under our pledge to donate more than 1.3 billion doses globally,” said the Australian Foreign Minister.

“We will continue to champion ASEAN’s centrality for the region’s stability and prosperity, including by supporting the practical implementation of ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific,” she noted.

According to the statement, this is the third in-person meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers, following the one in Tokyo in October 2020 and the inaugural meeting in New York City in September 2019. The Ministers last met virtually in February 2021.