India set to host Quad foreign ministerial meeting next week

New Delhi: India is set to host a meeting of Quad foreign ministers next week that is expected to deliberate on pressing global challenges, including the fallout of the West Asia crisis and the prevailing situation in the Indo-Pacific, authoritative sources said on Monday.

The New Delhi meeting is planned for May 26, and it is scheduled to be attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presiding over it, they said.

Jaishankar is also likely to hold separate bilateral meetings with the Quad foreign ministers.


The Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, has emerged as a key grouping largely focusing on peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

India is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of the coalition. There is no official word yet on the planned meeting.

Besides deliberating on the pressing global challenges, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, the foreign ministers are expected to take stock of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese assertiveness.

In the last few years, the Quad has rolled out a number of initiatives addressing some of the most pressing needs and challenges of the Indo-Pacific region, including in areas of maritime security, infrastructure and connectivity.

In the last Quad summit held in Wilmington, United States, in 2024, top leaders of the grouping unveiled major steps to expand maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

The upcoming meeting is also likely to set the broad agenda of the Quad summit that is likely to take place in India later this year.

The last Quad foreign ministers' meeting had taken place in Washington DC in July last.