The US on Thursday announced that President Joe Biden will host the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, Saturday, September 21.
With this announcement, it becomes clear that Washington has taken the initiative to host the leaders’ summit — which was originally scheduled to happen in India. It was India’s turn to host the summit, and it had proposed to hold it in January this year, around the Republic Day, but it did not materialise.
Consequently, it was decided that Biden wanted to host the summit in his last months as the US President — in a sort of parting gift, before he debits office. So, they swapped and India will now host the summit in 2025.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “The President looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan.”
She said: “This will be President Biden’s first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president—a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders, and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries.”
The statement said that the Biden-Harris Administration has made elevating and institutionalizing the Quad a top priority, from the first Quad Leaders Summit at the White House in 2021, to annual meets since then.
“The Quad Leaders Summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas,” the statement said.