Quad Sherpas meet ahead of ministers' talk in Oct

New Delhi: Foreign secretary Vikram Misri hosted a meeting of Quad Sherpas in New Delhi to prepare for the grouping's foreign ministers' meeting in Australia in October, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday.

The discussions covered key areas of Quad cooperation, including maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response, the ministry said.

The four Sherpas also exchanged views on developments in the Indo-Pacific and the broader regional and global context.


The Sherpas reaffirmed the importance of focusing on concrete, action-oriented initiatives. The meeting was convened to take forward the outcomes of the Quad foreign ministers' meeting held in New Delhi on May 26.

Australia's deputy secretary, Strategic Planning and Coordination Group, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Elly Lawson; Japan's senior deputy minister for foreign affairs Hiroyuki Namazu; and US ambassador to India Sergio Gor attended the meeting.

At their last meeting in Manila on the sidelines of an Asean meeting, the Quad foreign ministers backed the practical implementation of the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), seeking greater regional support for the grouping's efforts to ensure a stable Indo-Pacific.

At the May meeting in New Delhi, the Quad foreign ministers also announced plans to convene an Indo-Pacific Energy Security initiative involving strategic crude oil reserves and emergency response measures, as countries including some Quad members face energy supply-chain disruptions due to the war in West Asia.