Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his counterparts from Japan, India and the United States have capped off a rescheduled Quad leaders’ meeting with a vow to co-operate for the benefit of the region.
“We will act together as a force for good to find common solutions for region-wide benefit,” the group said in a vision statement released after the four leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the meeting in Hiroshima on Saturday, Mr Albanese said the Quad leaders – US President Joe Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – were an “outcomes-focused grouping” that could “get things done”.
“My first act one year ago tomorrow, indeed, was, after being sworn in as prime minister, was to fly to Tokyo to represent Australia in Japan at the second Quad leaders’ summit,” Mr Albanese said.
“One year on, I’m absolutely delighted to be amongst close friends again here in Japan to continue our important work.”
Mr Albanese said the Quad partners stood for “an open, stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region – a region where sovereignty is respected, and all countries large and small benefit from a regional balance that keeps the peace”.
“Respect for the leadership of regional institutions including ASEAN, the Pacific Island Forum and the Indian Ocean Rim Association is central to our approach,” he said.
Saturday’s vision statement of the Quad – whose leaders first met in a virtual format in March 2021 and held face-to-face talks in the US in September 2021 – said the group would build on past examples of co-operation.
“Recently, in our response to the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we joined together to expand safe, affordable and effective vaccine production and equitable access,” it said.
“The Indo-Pacific’s key challenges of health security, rapidly changing technology, the grave threat of climate change and the strategic challenges facing the region, summon us to act with renewed purpose.”
The Quad members originally had been scheduled to meet in Sydney next week but rescheduled for the sidelines of the G7 to allow Mr Biden to return to Washington DC on Sunday in hopes of finalising a deal to increase the debt ceiling before the US runs out of cash to pay its bills.
Mr Biden apologised to Mr Albanese in Hiroshima for not meeting him in Sydney.
“I deeply appreciate the flexibility of meeting me here at the G7 meeting,” he told Mr Albanese.
Mr Albanese is due to return to Australia on Sunday.
© AAP 2023
