Washington: Hours after Donald Trump took office as US President, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held multiple meetings on Wednesday with his Quad group counterparts including newly-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on wide-ranging issues, and the status quo in the Indo-Pacific region.
Within an hour of arriving at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department as Secretary of State, Rubio, 53, hosted his first multilateral meeting with his Quad counterparts: Jaishankar from India, Penny Wong from Australia, and Iwaya Takeshi from Japan.
Quad is a grouping of four countries aimed at maintaining peace and law and order in the Indo-Pacific region. The four leaders posed for a group photo at the State Department after the hour-long meeting but did not take any questions.
Earlier in the day, Rubio told NBC News that the meeting was intended to reaffirm the importance of collaborating with allies worldwide on issues critical to America and its citizens.
Taking to X, Jaishankar called the meeting “productive” and its significance on occurring just hours after Trump took office.
“Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Agreed on the importance of thinking bigger, deepening the agenda and intensifying our collaboration. The meeting today sends a clear message that in an uncertain and volatile world, the Quad will continue to be a force for global good,” he wrote in the post.
Attended a productive Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in Washington DC. Thank @secrubio for hosting us and FMs @SenatorWong & Takeshi Iwaya for their participation.
Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration. This… pic.twitter.com/uGa4rjg1Bw
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 21, 2025
Jaishankar also had a bilateral meeting with Rubio before holding a photo op for the press. He said India and the US look forward to closely working with him to advance their strategic cooperation.
Quad leaders’ strong message to China
After their meeting, the Quad foreign ministers sent a strong message to China as they opposed any unilateral action that may alter the status quo by force or coercion.
The leader held talks for about an hour and issued a joint statement. The Quad Leadership Summit will be held in India later in the year.
“Our four nations maintain our conviction that international law, economic opportunity, peace, stability, and security in all domains, including the maritime domain, underpin the development and prosperity of the people of the Indo-Pacific. We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the joint statement said.
“We are committed to strengthening regional maritime, economic, and technology security in the face of increasing threats, as well as promoting reliable and resilient supply chains,” they added.
