The Quad Leaders' Summit was earlier scheduled to be held in Canberra, Australia
Leaders of the Quad countries - the US, India, Japan and Australia - will be meeting in Hiroshima, Japan on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday (May 18, 2023).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Japan on Friday (May 19, 2023) to attend the G-7 Summit, which will see the presence of US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in addition to the Prime Minister of Japan, which holds the current presidency.

The Quad Leaders' Summit was earlier scheduled to be held in Canberra but had to be cancelled after President Biden called off his visit to Australia due to pressing fiscal issues back home.

The Quad Summit will now take place in Hiroshima as all four leaders will be there at the same place for the same conference, Foreign Secretary Kwatra said. This change in venue does not alter the main agenda, he added.

According to Foreign Secretary Kwatra, the Quad leaders will assess the situation and work towards achieving several outcomes from the meeting. "A lot of preparations have gone on for this Quad meeting. There are several deliverables which we are expecting to come out of it...all that would be showcased when the four leaders meet in Hiroshima," he noted.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE G-7 SUMMIT

The G-7 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union. While India is not a member of the G-7, it is a guest country at the 2023 Summit and Prime Minister Modi has been invited to speak at the meet by Japanese PM Kishida Fumio. Japan is currently the G-7 chair.

PM Modi will speak at the G7 Summit on issues including peace, stability, sustainability, security, health, gender equality, climate change, infrastructure, and development cooperation. Additionally, meetins are being scheduled with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

While in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Modi will also unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi.

During his visit to Port Moresby, Prime Minister Modi will co-chair the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with Papua New Guinea PM James Marape on May 22.

The Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) is a landmark initiative launched in 2014 as part of the
Act East Policy. India and 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs), including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, Niue, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, Palau, Nauru, and the Solomon Islands, are a part of this initiative.

Lastly, Prime Minister Modi will visit Sydney, Australia, from May 22 to 24. He is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Albanese on May 24. "This will be their fifth meeting within one year," FS Kwatra pointed out. He added that the Australian Prime Minister had visited India in March 2023.

During his stay in Sydney, PM Modi will also engage with the Indian diaspora in addition to holding discussions with Australian CEOs and business leaders.