After G20 FMM, New Delhi to host Quad foreign ministers' meeting today

The meeting, to be presided over by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, will be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, and Australia's Penny Wong

A day after the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FMM) was held in New Delhi, the city is set to host a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers on Friday. The meeting is expected to focus on the Indo-Pacific against the backdrop of increasing assertiveness by China in the region.

The meeting, to be presided over by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, will be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, and Australia's Penny Wong.

"The next meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers will be hosted by India on March 3 in New Delhi," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"The meeting will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and will see the participation of foreign ministers of Australia and Japan and the Secretary of State of the United States of America," it said.

According to the MEA, the meeting will be an opportunity for the ministers to continue the discussions held at their last meeting in New York in September 2022.

"They will exchange views on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and regional issues of mutual interest, guided by their vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific," the MEA said, as reported by news agency PTI.

The ministers will also review the progress made by the Quad in pursuit of its agenda and implementation of initiatives aimed at addressing contemporary priorities of the region.

Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), comprises India, the US, Australia, and Japan. One of its primary objectives is to work for a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

G20 foreign ministers' meeting ends without a joint statement

The G20 FMM, held on Thursday, ended without a joint communique as the diplomatic tussle between the West and Russia over the war in Ukraine continued. However, a common outcome document was released.

Jaishankar said that it focused on multilateralism and the need for reforms at the United Nations (UN).

"Despite the challenges of the divergent positions on the conflict in Ukraine, the G20 foreign ministers were able to come to a consensus on key challenges. We believe the outcome document truly reflects what the G20 should be aiming towards," he said.

Blinken and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. Blinken said that he asked Lavrov to "end this war of aggression, engage in meaningful diplomacy that can produce a just and lasting peace".

(With agency inputs)