Key Outcomes and Highlights from the Quad Summit 2024

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is Quad?
• Key outcomes of Quad Summit 2024

Why in News?

• PM Modi participated in the sixth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware (USA). This year’s summit was hosted by US.

What is Quad?

• About
  • The grouping of four democracies –India, Australia, US and Japan– is known as the quadrilateral security dialogue or quad.
  • The aim of this grouping is to ensure a free and open international order based on the rule of law in the Indo- Pacific.
• Objectives
  • The group’s primary objectives include
    • maritime security, 
    • combating the Covid-19 crisis, especially vis-à-vis vaccine diplomacy, 
    • addressing the risks of climate change, 
    • creating an ecosystem for investment in the region and 
    • boosting technological innovation.
• Evolution of Quad
  • Following the Indian Ocean tsunami, India, Japan, Australia, and the US created an informal alliance to collaborate on disaster relief efforts.
  • Quad as a formal group was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. 
    • However, due to Chinese resistance and reluctance shown by India, it could not move ahead.
  • Later, during the 2017 ASEAN Summits, all four former members re-joined negotiations to revive the quadrilateral alliance. 
  • The Quad was upgraded to the ministerial level in September 2019.
  • In March 2021, the first-ever summit of QUAD leaders took place virtually. 
    • It was participated by the PMs/Presidents of all the member countries. The summit was hosted by US.
  • Later, in September 2021, the first in-person meeting of Quad leaders was hosted by the US.
• Naval Exercise 
  • In November 2020, the navies of Australia, India, Japan and the United States held their biggest naval drills, known as Malabar exercise. 
  • It was the first time since 2007 that all members of Quad participated in a joint military drill.

Key outcomes of Quad Summit 2024

• Quad Wilmington Declaration
  • To take the Quad agenda forward, they adopted the Quad Wilmington Declaration.
• Quad Cancer Moonshot
  • The Quad Cancer Moonshot is a new initiative launched by Quad. It aims to reduce the burden of cancer in the Indo-Pacific region. 
  • Building on their COVID-19 collaboration, the partnership leverages collective investments, scientific expertise, and contributions from private and non-profit sectors. 
  • The initiative will initially target cervical cancer, a preventable disease with a high death toll in the region, while also setting the stage to address other forms of cancer in the future.
• Maritime Initiative For Training In Indo-Pacific
  • The Quad leaders announced the Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) to help regional partners effectively utilize tools from the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) and other Quad initiatives. 
    • IPMDA is a cooperative initiative that aims to improve maritime awareness and response capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. 
    • The initiative was announced in May 2022 by the Quad group.
  • This program aims to enhance monitoring, security, law enforcement, and deter illegal activities in regional waters. 
  • India will host the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. 
  • The Quad will also launch a maritime legal dialogue to support a rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific, while introducing new technology and data to enhance IPMDA capabilities over the next year.
• Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission To Be Held in 2025
  • The Quad nations announced plans for the first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, involving the US, Japan, Australia, and Indian Coast Guards to enhance maritime safety and interoperability. 
• Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network launched
  • The leaders launched a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project to share airlift capacity and leverage their collective logistics strengths.
  • This will enable faster and more efficient civilian responses to natural disasters across the Indo-Pacific region.
• Quad Ports of the Future Partnership launched
  • It will harness the Quad’s collective expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific.
• Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network Memorandum of Cooperation
  • It aims to enhance resilience of Quad’s semiconductor supply chains.
• Other announcements
  • Collective Quad effort to boost energy efficiency, including deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable cooling systems in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.
  • A new sub-category under the Quad STEM Fellowship, announced by India, for students of the Indo-Pacific region to pursue a 4-year bachelor’s level engineering programme at a Government of India funded technical institute.
• Quad Leaders’ Summit 2025 to be held in India 
  • The Leaders welcomed the next hosting of the Quad Leaders’ Summit by India in 2025. 

Q.1. What is the Quad Cancer Moonshot initiative?

The Quad Cancer Moonshot is an initiative aimed at reducing cancer in the Indo-Pacific, focusing initially on cervical cancer. It builds on the Quad's successful collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing collective investments and scientific expertise to combat cancer.

Q.2. What was announced about the Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI)?

The MAITRI program aims to enhance maritime monitoring, security, and law enforcement in the Indo-Pacific. The initiative will assist regional partners in utilizing tools like Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness, with India set to host the inaugural workshop in 2025.

Source: Prime Minister attends the sixth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware

Indian Express

NDTV

The Hindu