India Driving Force Of Quad: White House

Washington: The White House said that India is a driving force of the Quad and an engine for regional growth. The White House statement came days after foreign ministers of the countries met in Melbourne as part of the grouping.

India, the United States, Japan and Australia comprise the Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

The foreign ministers of the four nations had discussed China’s destabilising role in the Indo-Pacific region and Russian aggression in Ukraine during the Melbourne summit recently.

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were part of the discussions.

“We recognise that India is a like-minded partner and leader in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, active in and connected to the Southeast Asia, a driving force of the Quad, and an engine for regional growth and development,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was quoted as saying reporters in Washington by news agency PTI.

“It was an opportunity to discuss Russia’s ongoing threat to Ukraine. They discussed the threat that Russia’s aggression poses not only to Ukraine but to the entire international rules-based order, which has provided a foundation for decades of shared security and prosperity for the region and around the globe,” she said.

“Throughout his meetings with the Quad partners, Secretary Blinken discussed the challenges Russia poses to the rules-based on international order and our readiness to support our European allies,” she added.

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