Quad to remain a 4-member group, open to collaboration: MEA clarifies

The MEA clarified that the Quad will remain a four-member group for now. While membership isn't expanding, the grouping is open to working with other countries in specific areas of cooperation, delivering for the entire Indo-Pacific region.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday clarified that the Quad continues to remain a grouping of four member countries, while noting that the platform remains open to collaboration with other partners in specific areas of cooperation.

Responding to a question on whether there has been any discussion on expanding the Quad, MEA Additional Secretary Nagaraj Naidu said the grouping remains limited to its four founding members at present. "As of now, the Quad continues to remain a grouping of four members, but we are delivering for all of the Indo-Pacific," he said during a special briefing following the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

'Flexible and nimble' mechanism

Naidu stated that while the Quad is not currently expanding its membership, it remains open to working with other countries in specific areas of cooperation where there is potential for collaboration. "I don't think the Quad is averse to working with other partners," Naidu said. Highlighting the nature of the grouping, he described the Quad as a flexible and nimble mechanism without a formal institutional structure. "All I would like to assure is that the Quad is a very nimble organisation. We don't have a formal secretariat, but that gives us the flexibility to do a lot of things," he added.

Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting

His remarks come following the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held earlier today in the national capital, following which the quad partners adopted four documents - a joint statement, a fact sheet, a joint statement on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, and the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative framework. The meeting was hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Hyderabad House in the national capital and attended by the Foreign Minister of Australia, Penny Wong and the Foreign Minister of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi, along with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. (ANI)

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