The fifth Quad Leaders’ Summit was held in Hiroshima, Japan on 20 May 2023. Key outcomes included a Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program; a Quad Health Security Partnership; a Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience; a Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Program; and an Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) deployment in the Pacific. A Quad Investors’ Network was also announced as a private sector-led platform to facilitate investments in strategic technologies.
Further, the summit saw the release of the Leaders’ Joint Statement, a Vision Statement – ‘Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific’ Joint Statement, an Open RAN Security Report; Joint Principles for Secure Software; and Quad Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards.
India will host the next Quad Leaders’ Summit in 2024.
The fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit was hosted by Japan on 24 May 2022 in Tokyo. Key outcomes included the launch of a Quad Satellite Data Portal to provide regional countries with space-based data for climate monitoring and disaster response and preparedness and sustainable use of marine resources; Quad Climate Change Action and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP) for practical cooperation on climate action, climate finance, and technology transfer; Quad Debt Management Resource Portal to address challenges of unsustainable debt financing; and Quad Partnership on HADR to provide timely and effective assistance in the Indo-Pacific region.
The leaders also welcomed the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative to bolster the capacity of countries to respond to HADR incidents and combat illegal fishing.
The Leaders also issued a Joint Statement.
The third Quad Leaders’ Summit was held virtually on 03 March 2022 to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on the Indo-Pacific. The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, in which all states’ sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion.
They also agreed to start a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism to enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
The Leaders also issued a Joint Readout.
The second Quad Leaders’ Summit was held on 24 September 2021 in Washington DC. The Leaders put forth ambitious initiatives to deepen their ties and advance practical cooperation on 21st-century challenges: ending the COVID-19 pandemic; promoting high-standards infrastructure; combating the climate crisis; partnering on emerging technologies, space, and cybersecurity; and cultivating next-generation talent in Quad countries.
As part of the Summit outcomes, the Leaders announced three new working groups on Infrastructure, Space, and Cyber issues, and launched the Quad Fellowship which will focus on STEM and bring together the top minds of Quad countries. Further, the summit saw the release of the Leaders’ Joint Statement, Fact Sheet, and Quad Principles on Technology Design, Development, Governance, and Use.
The first Quad Leaders’ Summit was held virtually on 12 March 2021 to discuss regional and global issues, especially the Indo-Pacific. Working Groups on Vaccine Partnership, Climate Change, and Critical & Emerging Technologies were announced to respond to the regional challenges. The Quad adopted an action-oriented approach to enable practical cooperation.
Quad Leaders’ Joint Statement and Quad Summit Fact Sheet highlighting the ‘Spirit of the Quad’ and Summit outcomes, respectively, were released at the Summit. The Leaders also shared their vision for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, resilient and inclusive, through a joint Op-Ed.
