Quad has worked well as a force for global good due to strong relations between member countries: S Jaishankar

The Quad has worked well as a force for global good due to the strong bilateral relations between India, the US, Australia and Japan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here on Friday.

Jaishankar spoke briefly when he along with his counterparts from the US, Japan and Australia called on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the sidelines of the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting here.

"It is very appropriate that it should happen, Quad meetings and … we have bilaterals tomorrow also," Jaishankar, who is visiting Australia on his first trip to the country as external affairs minister, said.


On Saturday, he will co-chair with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne the 12th India-Australia foreign ministers' framework dialogue.


Recalling the Quad summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, the then Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and Morrison in September last year, Jaishankar said "it (the summit) gave us guidance for the Quad to put forward and I would want to assure you that, you are very good at work and, today the meeting gives us opportunity to review, how much we have progressed on this set up…"

"I do want to recognise how much progress we have made in our ties/relationships. We have a trade minister in India and as far as my knowledge is concerned the discussions there have been very positive," he informed Morrison.

"I think Quad has worked so well as a force as my prime minister says 'force for global good' because of our bilateral relations have been very strong and surely why I expect the progress in our bilateral relations among the Quad as well," he said.

In his opening remarks on the sidelines of the Quad meeting, Prime Minister Morrison said that he finds it credibly reassuring that like-minded partners have gathered together for the Quad meeting in Australia.

"I am reassured by our perspective, by the understanding that is shared between each of us, by the credible strong support Australia has received by our Quad partners. "And I just don't mean in the security context. I mean in terms of economic partnership and cooperation, I mean the humanitarian partnership, health- each of us stands for a world order that favours freedom and particularly in a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.

He said that while the Quad partners share this perspective, "we look through the lens that very much has ASEAN partners at the centre of our understanding of the Indo-Pacific vision. Australia was the first comprehensive strategic partner of ASEAN but we all share a deep passion for ASEAN."

Morrison said that the things discussed by them are principally how "we would continue to stand up for our values which unites us the most."

"But we also share a vision for a stronger economy, not just regional stability and security and engagement in this region which we are so passionate about..." he said. Morrison said that Quad partners were working together on so many shared projects which is what the Quad is all about and not only, of course, the regional security issues that binds the grouping together.

The shared partnerships on everything from E-technologies to expanding the markets together but also on global challenges like climate or humanitarian issues or the great challenge of COVID that has led so much of the work that has been important to this Quad partnership, he said.

"We are great democracies who see an economy founded on enterprise and innovation and we support a world order that favours freedom through our international institutions," he said.

Morrison emphasised that it was the democracies that provided them with the framework and the foundation of those important institutions "of our world and we would always work together to reinforce those..."

In March last year, US President Biden hosted the first-ever virtual summit of the Quad leaders in the virtual format that was followed by an in-person summit in Washington in September for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had travelled to Washington.

The four foriegn ministers of the Quad grouping exchanged views on regional strategic issues given their shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, amidst China's aggressive behaviour in the region.

The Quad has also been focusing cooperation in areas such as producing vaccines, connectivity projects, facilitating the mobility of students, and looking at promoting startups and technology collaboration.

Later, Jaishankar had a "fruitful roundtable" with Australia-based CEOs.

"So encouraging to hear their experiences of India's improved ease of doing business.

"Discussed why post-Covid world must be resilient, trusted & transparent. Thank Australia India Chamber of Commerce for organising," Jaishankar tweeted.