Conflicts in West Asia, the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and the holding of the much-delayed Quad summit are expected to top the agenda of the foreign ministers’ meeting of the four-nation group to be held in New Delhi on May 26.
The Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar attended his counterparts – Penny Wong of Australia, Toshimitsu Motegi of Japan, and Marco Rubio of the United States – at Hyderabad House for the meeting. Rubio is scheduled to arrive in India over the weekend for a bilateral visit – his first to India since becoming foreign secretary last year – and India has organized a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting to coincide with his trip.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the foreign ministers will build on their discussions held in Washington in July 2025 in line with the Quad’s vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
“They will exchange views on enhancing Quad cooperation in priority areas, review progress made in ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of common interest,” the ministry said in a statement.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States are expected to hold bilateral meetings with Jaishankar and also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ministry said.
The Quad emerged as a major grouping focused on security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region during US President Donald Trump’s first term, when he was elevated to the level of senior leadership. However, there has been a lack of focus on the Quad during Trump’s second term, despite Rubio chairing a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting shortly after taking office in early 2025.
Informed sources said that India’s plans to host the Quad leaders’ summit have suffered several setbacks, and the next meeting is expected to discuss holding the summit. India continues to chair the group, although the position should have gone to Australia in 2026. There is still no official information about when the summit will be held.
The upcoming meeting is not expected to yield any major results, the people said. They added that conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine and China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region are expected to be taken up at the meeting, which will also be an opportunity for the US side to update other members on Trump’s recent visit to China. During the last Quad summit held in the United States in 2024, the group unveiled steps to expand cooperation on maritime security across the Indo-Pacific region.
