QUAD leaders to discuss THESE topics in first summit on March 12

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New Delhi: The leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue are set to hold the maiden QUAD summit on Friday (March 12). Leaders from Australia, India, Japan and the United States will be attending the summit which aims to discuss a variety of global issues ranging from COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis and climate change.

The White house Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in an address to the media, said "That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific."

"A range of issues, course, we expect to be discussed, I should say, facing the global community from the threat of COVID-19 to economic cooperation and, of course, to the climate crisis," she added.

Here is all you need to know before the meet:

• The first virtual QUAD summit of the leaders of India, Australia, Japan, and the US was announced by the external affairs ministry on Tuesday.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden in the “first Leaders’ Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework, being held virtually”, the ministry said in a statement.

• The leader can use Quad Summit as an opportunity to exchange views on “contemporary challenges such as resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security, and climate change”, the statement added.

• The world leaders will “exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” read the ministry’s statement.

• The leaders of four countries will also review and map out efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and “explore opportunities for collaboration in ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The Quad grouping was established in 2007 to showcase what democracies can deliver together for both their own populations and also the broader international public. Earlier, India has urged the other QUAD members to invest in its vaccine production to enhance its capacity  as an attempt to counter China's widening vaccine diplomacy in the world.