1st Quad Leaders' Summit to be held virtually tomorrow

The First Quad Leaders' Summit will be held virtually tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joseph R Biden will participate in the first Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework.

The Leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

The Summit will provide an opportunity to exchange views on contemporary challenges such as resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security and climate change.

The Quad leaders are expected to confirm their intentions to reduce their dependence on China-produced rare earths, Nikkei Asia reported.

Nikkei Asia in its report said, "the US, Australia, Japan and India are on the verge of joining hands to build a rare-earth procurement chain to counter the dominance China plays in supplying these crucial elements to makers of everything from smartphones to high-performance motors to EV batteries." It added, "China currently produces nearly 60 per cent of the world's rare earths, and its market power has posed supply concerns.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue nations intend to counter this by cooperating in funding new production technologies and development projects. They also intend to lead the way in drafting international rules."

Besides, the Leaders during the summit will also discuss ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and explore opportunities for collaboration in ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region.