Foreign ministers of Quad member states will gather in New Delhi on Tuesday for a key meeting against the backdrop of growing geoeconomic turmoil due to conflict in West Asia and uncertainty over the group’s summit, with a focus on strengthening cooperation to ensure the Indo-Pacific region remains free and secure.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will join Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the first meeting of Quad foreign ministers in almost a year, and the four countries will seek to bring new impetus to the group’s activities, people familiar with the matter said.
Ahead of the Quad meeting, Jaishankar held bilateral talks with Motegi on Monday to review bilateral cooperation, especially on economic security, and take stock of regional and global developments, including the West Asia crisis that has disrupted energy supplies to both India and Japan.
Jaishankar said in televised remarks at the beginning of the meeting that developments in West Asia are important because India and Japan are energy importers and major trading countries with maritime interests. He added that economic security issues have become a source of concern for all major economies.
Motegi pointed out that the world is facing “the most important structural change” since World War II due to “the shift in the balance of power and the intensification of conflicts.” He noted that India and Japan share commitment and responsibility to shape the international order.
He also pointed to Japan’s recent update of its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” policy aimed at helping countries “gain the flexibility and capabilities” to decide on their own in areas such as economy, security and society, and said Tokyo would strengthen cooperation so that the entire region becomes more resilient and prosperous.
“To this end, Japan and India need to act as a driving force for such an initiative, and I look forward to working closely with you and also through the Quad framework,” Motegi said.
Before her arrival in India, Wong in a statement described the Quad as a “vital partnership” between four countries that shape a peaceful, stable and prosperous future for the Indo-Pacific region in times of uncertainty. She said the four Quad member states are “achieving tangible results” on common interests such as maritime security, critical mineral supplies, infrastructure development and disaster relief.
She said the Albanian government would work more seriously in new and existing alliances such as the Quad to build “Australia’s future in an ever less stable world.”
Wong will also participate with Jaishankar in the Australian and Indian Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue to deepen cooperation on trade and investment, defence, maritime security, climate transition, strategic technology, education and skills.
India last hosted a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in 2023, and the four ministers last met in Washington in July 2025. Although Rubio’s first formal engagement after becoming Secretary of State last year was a meeting of Quad foreign ministers, the Trump administration’s interest in the gathering declined, especially after Indo-US relations declined over differences over trade and tariff policies.
The last Quad leaders’ summit was held in the US in September 2024, and India had to postpone the summit scheduled for last year because President Donald Trump did not commit to traveling to the country to attend the meeting. The sources said that holding the Quartet leaders’ summit will be one of the main issues on the agenda of the foreign ministers’ meeting.
Jaishankar said in a joint press conference with Rubio on Sunday that it was important for cooperation to continue between the four “maritime democracies” of the Quad, as they wanted to “do business and manage life on the basis of international law and market practices.”
