New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday met Quad Sherpas of Australia and Japan in New Delhi, discussing matters of bilateral interest with the visiting officials.
Misri met Eleanor Jane Lawson, Deputy Secretary of Strategic Planning and Coordination Group at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), ahead of the Quad Sherpas meeting.
“Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri met Ms Eleanor Jane Lawson, Deputy Secretary, Strategic Planning and Coordination Group, DFAT Australia and discussed matters of bilateral interest and regional and global issues of mutual interest, ahead of the Quad Sherpas Meeting in New Delhi today,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on X.
In a separate meeting, FS Misri held discussions with Hiroyuki Namazu, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, on issues of shared bilateral and regional interest.
“Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri today met Mr Hiroyuki Namazu, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, MFA Japan, ahead of the Quad Sherpas Meeting and discussed issues of shared bilateral and regional interest,” the MEA stated on X.
In July, the Quad Foreign Ministers underlined their strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality in the Indo-Pacific, reaffirming their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
In a joint statement, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio underscored the Quad’s strong resolve for the Indo-Pacific region’s prosperity and its cooperation with ASEAN and its member states.
“As ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partners, we, the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan, met today in Manila to reaffirm our commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific and our unwavering support for ASEAN unity and centrality. We are deeply invested in the region’s success and in cooperating with ASEAN and its member states,” read the joint statement following the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in Manila.
The member states discussed regional challenges and ways to strengthen support for the “practical implementation” of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) through “shared priorities of maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response.”
The statement noted that the Quad remains united in its conviction that “peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region.”
–IANS
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