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NEW DELHI: Foreign ministers of the Quad nations are meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, with discussions expected to focus on critical minerals, maritime security and energy concerns amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.External Affairs minister S Jaishankar is hosting Australia’s Penny Wong, Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the talks at Hyderabad House. The ministers are also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The war in West Asia and its impact on maritime and energy security will be among the key issues on the agenda, with the four countries concerned about the consequences of the Strait of Hormuz closure and its effect on freedom of navigation through major global chokepoints, including in the Indo-Pacific region.In keeping with the Quad vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, the ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2025, where they reaffirmed their commitment to defending the rule of law, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.The July 2025 joint statement had announced a new agenda focused on four key areas: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response. The ministers had also expressed serious concern about the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, reiterating strong opposition to “any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.”According to a analysis by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the Quad is currently going through its most turbulent period of diplomatic synergy since the group’s resuscitation in 2017.”The continued momentum stagnated in 2025, when the group failed to convene a leader-level summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi, the first hosted by India since 2021,” ORF noted.The arrival of Secretary Rubio in India ushers in “a new opportunity to set in motion a critical reset and inject fresh momentum into the group,” the ORF analysis said.They also noted that subsequent events in 2025, including the US imposition of tariffs on Quad partners, the placement of AUKUS under review, and continued adversarial commentary from Washington regarding India’s purchase of Russian energy, “resulted in a diplomatic nadir among the members of the group.””A churn is currently underway in the Indo-Pacific. Washington’s changing foreign policy and security priorities, driven by its shifting posture in the region and its preoccupation with wars in the Middle East, have resulted in growing uncertainty,” ORF said.The Quad has demonstrated steady progress in the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Partnership, the Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network, ORF noted.”Coordinating a successful leader-level summit ought to remain a key priority for the group. Secretary Rubio’s role in ensuring that Washington finally puts its diplomatic weight behind the group will be crucial,” ORF said.”The focus of the meeting in New Delhi must remain anchored in efforts to overcome the diplomatic nadir in which the Quad currently finds itself.”
