The QUAD Summit 2023

The third in-person QUAD Summit took place in Hiroshima, Japan on 20th May 2023. Hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, The Quad Leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr, and Prime Minister Albanese reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, supporting the region's development, stability and prosperity to benefit the people. 

This 5th session of the QUAD Summit highlighted that the QUAD Leaders are working to contribute to regional peace, stability, prosperity, certainty, opportunity, and resilience, as well as upholding international law, including the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the rules-based international order. "We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated ' one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures. Our four countries are united by this shared vision" ~ From The Quad Leaders' Joint Statement published by The White House.

As a part of the Indo-Pacific, the Quad partners are heavily invested in the region's success. By leveraging the shared strengths and resources, they can support the development, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region through Quad's positive and practical agenda. The activities are based on the priorities of regional countries and serve local needs. We will continue to be transparent in our actions. Respecting the leadership of regional institutions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) remains central to Quad's efforts. They also announced cooperation with Sri Lanka and India as they assume the roles of IORA Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. The Quad Leaders reaffirmed their strong support for ASEAN centrality and unity, pledging to align their work with ASEAN's principles and priorities. They also emphasized the importance of ASEAN's regional leadership role and supported Indonesia's 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship. The Quad leaders promised to strengthen their relationships with ASEAN and collaborate further in support of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)

The QUAD Leaders commit to 4 main principles as they respond to future challenges.

1. We are deeply invested in the future prosperity and stability of the Indo-Pacific and are committed to bringing enduring benefit to the region by providing options that build resilience, open communication, and economic growth.

2. We seek to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific where competition is managed responsibly, by international law, including the United Nations Charter, and we will work to strengthen and reform the multilateral system to ensure all nations, large and small, continue to have a voice. We seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law.

3. We acknowledge and respect the centrality, agency, and leadership of regional institutions, including ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and will work in and alongside them to complement their efforts and advance our shared interests.

4. We will work transparently and in open dialogue to implement a practical agenda that delivers sustained economic and social value, is responsive to regional partners, and contributes to global priorities by advancing the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, noting the transformational power of technology to help meet these goals.

~ From the Quad Leader's Vision Statement - Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific, published by The White House.

The key objectives of the QUAD Summit

• The program will provide at least 1,800 scholarships, work exchanges, and other executive programs to government officials on best practices surrounding the design, delivery, and management of high-standard infrastructure projects.

• The U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program has partnered with Georgetown University Law Center to develop a 3-week executive legal certificate program designed for government attorneys drafting and negotiating complex infrastructure programs.

• These fellowships will improve capacity and deepen professional networks across the region to design, manage, and attract investment in infrastructure projects.

• The QUAD Investors Network (QUIN), a network of investors and executives across QUAD countries that seeks to foster co-investment in critical technologies, was officially launched. The QUAD welcomes the QUIN and its focus on strategic partnerships and investments to increase resilient supply chains for critical and emerging technologies by QUAD nations.

• The QUIN will facilitate access to capital and facilitate technology partnerships through the establishment of an Advisory Board of business leaders and expert working groups to advance the prosperity and security of the Indo-Pacific Region.

• QUAD countries seek to establish a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between the export credit agencies of the QUAD governments aims to strengthen collaboration for the promotion of trade, financing of trade-enabling projects, economics development, and knowledge-sharing projects concerning the export of goods and services. 

• The MOC acknowledges the importance of the economic development of the Indo-Pacific region and increasing business opportunities, particularly in the areas of emerging and critical technologies, digital connectivity, social development including gender equality and equity, clean energy power generation and distribution, and critical minerals.

• The QUAD will partner with the Government of Palau and the Palau National Communications Corporation (PNCC) to design, implement, and operationalize the deployment of Open RAN capabilities.

• Through Advancing Innovation to Empower Nextgen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE), QUAD science agencies from the United States, Australia, India, and Japan are identifying join funding opportunities to encourage collaborative research between QUAD partners on how to leverage the latest science and technology advances to benefit farmers.

• Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPDMA) launched at the Tokyo Summit on May 24, 2022, is now bringing cutting-edge satellite-based radio frequency (RF) data to partners around the region, enhancing their maritime domain awareness, and equipping them to better monitor their waters.

• QUAD leaders are proud to announce that the first class of diverse, dynamic, and inspiring QUAD fellows will begin their studies in the United States in August 2023.

• On September 24, 2021, the QUAD announced Fellow-ship for 100 American, Australian, Indian and Japanese students for 100 American, Australian, Indian and Japanese students to study in the United States each year for graduate studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

• The QUAD will work together to identify and address gaps in our manufacturing capacity for critical clean energy materials and technologies. In particular, the program will focus on the supply chains for solar photovoltaics (PV), hydrogen electrolyzers, and electric vehicle battery technologies.

• QUAD Indo-Pacific Oceans Research Alliance (QIPORA) is an ocean research alliance that will link lead ocean research agencies in India, Japan, Australia, and the United States.

• Launched at the 2023 QUAD Leaders' Summit, the QUAD Health Security Partnership builds on the success of the QUAD Vaccine Partnership. The first activities will be a package of concrete initiatives to strengthen prevention, detection, and response to outbreaks of disease with epidemic or pandemic potential.

• The QUAD Cyber Challenge was held for the first time this year to promote cyber awareness and empower participants across the INdo_Pacific to protect themselves online. An estimated 85,000 people across the Indo-Pacific took part in the challenge, and nearly 600 different schools, universities, companies, and non-profits took action to protect themselves and their communities.

• Climate change has increased global extreme precipitation events.s The QUAD Space Working Group Extreme Precipitation Steering Committee has hosted two workshops to strengthen collaboration between QUAD countries to build capacity in the region to monitor and respond to extreme precipitation events more effectively.

In light of recent regional issues, the QUAD Leaders expressed concern over the war in Ukraine, condemned North Korea's missile launches, and called for an end to violence in Myanmar. They also reaffirmed their commitment to countering terrorism and violent extremism in the region.

Overall, the Quad Leaders aimed to work together as a global force for good and create a free and open Indo-Pacific region that is stable, prosperous, and inclusive, with collaboration and partnership with other Indo-Pacific countries at the core of their efforts. 

The next in-person Quad Leaders' Summit is scheduled to be hosted by India in 2024.