The United States, Japan, India and Australia used their Atlanta ministerial meeting to set out cooperation on economic security. They expressed concern about arbitrary export restrictions and practices that disrupt critical supply chains, without naming China in their joint text. The Quad also advanced trusted technology initiatives and a forum bringing business leaders together.
Foreign ministers from the United States, Japan, India and Australia met in Atlanta on October 31 on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty foreign ministers’ gathering. The four-country partnership known as the Quad reaffirmed its goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific. The ministers expressed concern about economic coercion through arbitrary export restrictions and non-market practices that disrupt supply chains in critical industries.[1], [2]
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for approximately 40 minutes. It was their third ministerial meeting of the year after sessions in May and July. The ministers committed to reliable, open global supply chains and resilient infrastructure. Their joint release did not identify China by name.[1]
The ministers welcomed the launch of the Quad Business Leaders’ Forum to bring together businesses, officials and policy specialists. They also expressed their intention to support trusted artificial-intelligence adoption and innovation in the Indo-Pacific. Their wider cooperation priorities include maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity, emerging technologies and humanitarian assistance. The ministers said they looked forward to another leaders’ summit and foreign ministers’ meeting, while maintaining coordination across the partnership.[1]
