Atlanta Quad Meeting Sets Stage for Manila Leaders' Summit
Atlanta, October 31: A meeting of Quad foreign ministers scheduled for Saturday in Atlanta is drawing attention as a possible precursor to the leaders' summit proposed in Manila next month. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is among the participants, along with his counterparts from the United States, Japan and Australia.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue has long been viewed as a forum for coordinating on the Indo-Pacific. Discussions this time are expected to cover regional security, maritime cooperation and economic strength, with a focus on practical outcomes.
The meeting will be hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and begin at 9 a.m. local time. It is separate from the G20 foreign ministers' meeting being held in Atlanta, where Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi and Australia's Penny Wong are also present.
Penny Wong, in a statement released before her departure, said the four countries would deepen cooperation on regional, maritime and economic security. “The goal,” she said, “is to help make the Indo-Pacific peaceful, stable and prosperous.”
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, announcing the trip on Wednesday, said the minister would attend the Quad meeting on the margins of the G20 gathering and hold multiple bilateral meetings with his counterparts.
Farwa Aamer, Director of the South Asia Initiative at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the gathering could lay the groundwork for the Manila summit, which has been pending for a long time. She noted that despite a loss of bilateral trust over the past year, especially between India and the United States, the Quad has remained a platform where officials are pressing for joint work on the Indo-Pacific, supply chains and economic security.
At the same time, Aamer warned that the meeting may remain largely symbolic. From critical minerals to energy, several Quad agendas are already being advanced by member countries through their bilateral relationships.
Emma Chanlett-Avery, Senior Director at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the meeting was a welcome sign for Tokyo, Canberra and New Delhi. However, she flagged the risk that a potential trilateral summit between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, expected a day after the Quad meeting, could overshadow the grouping's efforts and present a different picture of the world order.
Maritime security is likely to remain a key topic in Atlanta. At the first full session of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting on Friday, Jaishankar called for adherence to international law, particularly the law of the sea under UNCLOS, maintaining freedom of navigation, and an immediate end to attacks on shipping.
In a post on X, he said the costs of attacks on civilian ships and seafarers were being borne disproportionately by Global South nations.
At the second full G20 session on energy, Jaishankar reiterated India's need for a steady and dependable supply of LPG for clean cooking. Rubio said maritime and food security are central pillars of economic security.
Also on Friday evening, Rubio, Motegi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a trilateral Arctic-Pacific partnership.
Wong further said Australia has joined the EU-led “No Fees, No Tolls” initiative, which seeks to oppose unlawful fees and tolls that interfere with freedom of navigation.
The Quad meeting in Atlanta is taking place just a week after Rubio's India visit. On Friday, Jaishankar also met foreign ministers of Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Germany on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.
After Atlanta, Jaishankar will travel to Antigua and Barbuda from November 1 to 4 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).