Hosting duties swapped, Quad leaders to meet in US on September 21

The Quadrilateral, or ‘Quad’, Leaders’ Summit, originally scheduled to be hosted by India, will now be hosted by the US. The White House announced on Friday that President Joe Biden will host the summit in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday, September 21. Wilmington is President Biden’s personal home, located in Delaware, a state on the East Coast of the US. New Delhi will host the summit next year.

This will be the fourth in-person summit of the Quad, which includes India, Australia, Japan, and the US as partners. The annual summit is hosted by each member on a rotational basis. This year, it was India’s turn, but the hosting duties have been swapped with the US.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that this will be President Biden’s first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as President — a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad leaders and the importance of the Quad to all participating countries.

President Biden looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, according to the official statement.

The Biden-Harris administration has made elevating and institutionalising the Quad a top priority, starting from the first-ever Quad Leaders Summit at the White House in 2021, followed by annual summits since then. In recent years, Quad foreign ministers have met eight times, and Quad governments continue to coordinate at all levels.

The Quad summit will focus on strengthening strategic convergence among the member countries.