Cooperation on COVID response and post COVID management of economy, health infrastructure are important elements of Quad

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Saturday underlined constructive and positive agenda of Quad, stating partnership among Quad countries on issues such as fighting against Covid-19 pandemic, its mitigation, partnering with countries in the Indo-Pacific region in post Covid-19 recovery, building the health security infrastructure, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief are key elements of the informal group’s partnership.

“Continuing cooperation on COVID response, and post COVID management of economy and health infrastructure are important elements. These include last mile delivery, health security, genomic surveillance, clinical trials, and pandemic preparedness as their important elements,” Foreign Secretary Kwatra said during a special briefing on PM Modi’s upcoming visit to Tokyo to attend Quad Leaders’ Summit on May 23-24.

The upcoming Quad summit in Tokyo would provide the leaders with an opportunity to take stock of the progress made so far on the informal group’s initiatives and also give guidance for the future, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said during a special briefing on PM Modi’s Japan visit, on Saturday.

Developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest might also come up for discussion, the Foreign Secretary said.

In response to a question on the security dimension of Quad, the Foreign Secretary said, “Quad is a group of countries that shares core values of democracy, pluralism, and market economy.”

He further added Quad’s cooperation is shaped principally by the goals of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

“And this perspective…is anchored in a shared commitment to rules-based order and a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” the Foreign Secretary maintained.

He also said the Quad partnership also includes working together to respond to the need of climate action and build resilient supply chains in the Indo-Pacific.

The Foreign Secretary said Quad’s Infrastructure Coordination Group has been deliberating on supporting sustainable and demand driven infrastructure in the region in a manner that doesn't burden countries of the region with unsustainable debt.

“Cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, biotechnology, diversification of semiconductor supply chain, and security of critical cyber infrastructure are other key priority areas of our cooperative measures in the Quad,” Kwatra underlined.

He also informed that Quad would organize a special session on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly on promoting vaccine confidence and fighting the epidemic on May 24.