Maritime security, critical and emerging technologies to top Quad summit agenda

Washington: The Quad summit in Delaware will feature ambitious announcements in multiple areas such as maritime security, high-quality infrastructure and critical and emerging technologies to demonstrate the group's endurance, a top White House official has said.

US President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan for the fourth in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit on Saturday, September 21.

“This year’s Quad Summit will feature ambitious announcements in the areas in which the Quad has grown and is used to working and where Indo-Pacific partners prioritise the Quad’s delivery. These include health security, humanitarian and disaster response, maritime security, high-quality infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, climate and clean energy, and cyber security,” Mira Rapp-Hooper, White House National Security Council Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, told reporters at a news conference here.

This is the first time President Biden will host foreign leaders in Wilmington, Delaware, reflecting his strong relationship with the leaders, and their strategic importance, she said on Thursday.

This year's Quad summit was originally scheduled to be held in India, but the venue was shifted to the US after looking at the schedule of the four leaders, she said.

"But as we looked at all four of these leaders’ schedules, it became increasingly clear that the best way to make sure that they met and had the time that they wanted to have these deep discussions would be this weekend here in the United States. So Prime Minister Modi graciously agreed to swap host years with us, and we do expect all four Quad leaders to meet in India next year,” she said.

Responding to a question, Rapp-Hooper said President Biden is very proud of the fact that the Quad has become a leading regional grouping, and he alongside of Quad partners agreed that the priority for the next several years at least should be focused on institutionalising the Quad and making sure it is strongly rooted in the Indo-Pacific.

“For their part, our leaders have indicated to us that they want to continue to refine and expand the types of cooperative projects that the Quad works on together. I expect they’ll spend a good portion of their discussion not only talking about the deliverables that we announce at this summit but where the Quad should be headed next," she said.

"For example, given the great work that the Quad has already done to deliver COVID vaccines or improved maritime domain awareness architecture to the Indo-Pacific region, what should be its direction of travel in its next chapter? So I expect that will be top of the agenda when the leaders take a forward-looking lens to the future of the Quad,” the official said.

At a separate news conference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that there will be three individual leader greetings at Archmere Academy where the president attended school. There will be a Quad family photo. There will be two major events, including a leaders level meeting of the Quad and a newsy cancer moonshot event.

Lisa Curtis, former White House official during the Trump administration told reporters at a news conference, that this meeting really is about President Biden's legacy and elevating the Quad. This is an opportunity for Biden to showcase all that has been accomplished in the last three and a half years.

“I think he'll tout that the Quad is something that he has prioritised, he has built up, and that will last many years beyond his administration. I think there's likely to be a long list of initiatives, mostly that build on work that has already been done within the Quad. But there may be one or two new initiatives as well. And I think one of the major announcements is likely to be related to maritime security,” she said.