By PTI
NEW DELHI: India on Friday stated Indo-Pacific remained the core focus of the Quad even when the state of affairs in Ukraine was mentioned at a gathering of the leaders of the coalition.
Leaders of the Quad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and their Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, held a digital assembly on Thursday that noticed a dialogue on the Ukraine disaster.
A joint readout launched by the White House stated the Quad leaders mentioned the continued battle and humanitarian disaster in Ukraine apart from assessing its “broader implications”.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated at a media briefing that it’s pure for leaders, having such good rapport amongst themselves, to debate topical points after they meet.
“As you saw from the readouts, Ukraine was discussed naturally. But let me just emphasise the Indo-Pacific remains the core focus of the Quad’s agenda and you will see that coming in terms of positive activities, initiatives and efforts all four countries are making,” he stated.
Bagchi stated the message on the assembly was very clear that though there’s a disaster in Ukraine, all 4 international locations had been making an attempt to take ahead the agenda of the Quad that was firmed up at an in-person summit of the leaders of the coalition in Washington final September.
“From our perspective, while of course there’s a very serious situation. In Ukraine, it’s not as though challenges in other parts of the world have vanished,” he stated.
“In the Indo-Pacific, the challenge is there and the agenda that the leaders of these four countries have signed up to, that is Indo-Pacific being at the core of the Quad’s agenda is something that they want to push ahead with,” he stated.
In his remarks on the digital assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi known as for a return to a path of “dialogue and diplomacy” in defusing the disaster in Ukraine.
“They (Quad leaders) agreed to stand up a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism which will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific and provide a channel for communication as they each address and respond to the crisis in Ukraine,” the joint readout said.
It stated the Quad leaders agreed to fulfill in individual in Tokyo within the coming months.
An Indian assertion stated, “Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The prime minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy.”
Modi underlined that the Quad should stay targeted on its “core objective” of selling peace, stability and prosperity within the Indo-Pacific area and he additionally reiterated the significance of adhering to the United Nations Charter, worldwide legislation, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, it stated.
