About the Quad

Membership

The Quad brings together four countries - Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, with a commitment to work as a force for global good and to support an open, free, and inclusive Indo-pacific that is prosperous and resilient.

Australia

India

Japan

United States

History

The Quad came together for the first time during the devastating 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean region, when the four countries formed the “Tsunami Core Group” to coordinate their emergency responses and humanitarian assistance to the countries in the region.

The Quad countries rapidly deployed response teams, and together contributed more than 40,000 personnel and humanitarian responders, in addition to dozens of helicopters, cargo ships, and transport planes to deploy search and rescue teams, essential supplies and medical aid. The coordination effort helped to avoid duplication, identify gaps in the relief process and complement relief and response efforts.

The Core Group not only set an example of effective response to a humanitarian disaster, but ushered in a new style of diplomacy by bringing together countries with the resources and the desire to act effectively and quickly.

The first meeting of Quad officials took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum summit in Manila, Philippines in May 2007. In subsequent years, there was growing bilateral and plurilateral engagement between the four Quad countries. After a gap of 10 years, Quad Senior Officials met in Manila in November 2017. Quad Foreign Ministers have been meeting regularly since 2019 to exchange views on regional strategic challenges and priorities. Quad was elevated to the Leaders’ level in March 2021. Besides meeting at the Leader and level of Foreign Ministers, Quad has acquired momentum with regular dialogues and interactions among Quad Sherpas, Senior officials and Experts. The partnership is known formally as the 'Quad', not the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, noting its nature as a diplomatic, not security, partnership.

Vision | Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific

During the Hiroshima Summit (2023), the Quad Leaders committed to the following principles to respond to the challenges ahead:

• The Quad is deeply invested in the future prosperity and stability of the Indo-Pacific and is committed to build resilience, open communication and economic growth in the region.
• The Quad seeks to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific where competition is managed responsibly. We will work to strengthen and reform the multilateral system and seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law.
• The Quad acknowledges and respects the centrality, agency, and leadership of regional institutions including ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and will work in and alongside them to complement their efforts and advance our shared interests.
• The Quad will work transparently and in open dialogue to implement a practical agenda that delivers sustained economic and social value and contributes to global priorities by advancing the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.