QUAD summit 2021 finally happened and it took 14 years to finally organize a physical meeting between the leaders of QUAD countries. Leaders of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia have met together for the first time in person at the Quad summit on September 24 in the White House and the leaders agreed to cooperate on various fields like education, cyber security, space, COVID 19, etc.
The QUAD leaders on COVID vaccine said that “As Quad countries, we have pledged to donate more than 1.2 billion vaccine doses globally, in addition to the doses we have financed through COVAX. To date, we have collectively delivered nearly 79 million safe and effective vaccine doses to the Indo-Pacific region”
One big announcement has been made at the summit regarding infrastructure development. At the summit, Quad launched the QUAD Infrastructure Coordination Group. It is clear that the Infrastructure Coordination Group is been launched to counter the Chinese debt trap policy. The group will focus on the Indo – Pacific Region and this group will act as an alternative to the Chinese loan in the region. “Quad infrastructure coordination group will meet regularly to share assessments of regional infrastructure needs and coordinate respective approaches to deliver transparent, high-standards infrastructure. The group will also coordinate technical assistance and capacity-building efforts, including with regional partners, to ensure our efforts are mutually reinforcing and complementary in meeting the significant infrastructure demand in the Indo-Pacific.” Mentioned in the statement.
QUAD summit 2021 has also launched a fellowship program for the students of the quad countries. The Fellowship will sponsor 100 students per year—25 from each Quad country—to pursue masters and doctoral degrees at leading STEM graduate universities in the United States.
At the summit, the focus was also on climate change the quad leader has also agreed to come together to counter climate change. According to the statement from The White House, “To address the climate crisis with the urgency it demands, Quad countries will focus their efforts on the themes of climate ambition, including working on 2030 targets for national emissions and renewable energy, clean-energy innovation and deployment, as well as adaptation, resilience, and preparedness.”
Apart from Climate change, COVID 19, Infrastructure, Quad leaders have also agreed in the field of Space exploration and Cyber security.
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