This is the first Quad Leaders’ summit in the backdrop of Russia’s attack on Ukraine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday participated at a virtual summit of Quad leaders, along with US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and discussed the Ukrainian crisis and its humanitarian implications.

At the summit, as per the PMO, Prime Minister Modi underlined the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy. He also reiterated the importance of adhering to the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Prime Minister, however, emphasized that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the PMO added.

He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity, and capacity-building.

The meeting reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the September 2021 Quad Summit, the PMO added.

The leaders agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later this year, the PMO maintained.

The leaders also discussed other topical issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands, the PMO said.

The leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders’ Summit in Japan, the PMO added.