Foreign ministers of India, the United States, Japan and Australia are scheduled to meet in Atlanta as the Quad grouping prepares for its next leaders’ summit in the Philippines. The meeting, hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will take place alongside a G20 ministerial gathering and is expected to help establish priorities for the upcoming summit in Manila.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will represent New Delhi at the discussions. The meeting will mark the second gathering of Quad foreign ministers this year, following a meeting hosted by India in May.
The diplomatic engagement comes amid recent strains in India-US relations and highlights continued cooperation among the four countries on shared strategic and economic priorities. The Quad, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, works to strengthen cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region, with an emphasis on maritime security, infrastructure development, technology and resilient supply chains.
The leaders’ summit in Manila is expected to take place alongside meetings associated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It would be the first Quad leaders’ summit in two years, following disruptions to earlier plans for India to host the gathering.
The summit agenda is expected to include regional connectivity, resilient infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, maritime security and space cooperation. Leaders are also likely to discuss international developments, including the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine.
The timing of the meeting is significant amid maritime tensions between the Philippines and China. It is also expected to precede US President Donald Trump’s planned visit to China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Trump is scheduled to travel to Shenzhen from Manila.
For India, the Quad remains an important platform for engagement with key regional partners on security and economic resilience. Cooperation on critical supply chains and emerging technologies has become increasingly important as countries seek to strengthen infrastructure, improve technological capabilities and reduce vulnerabilities in essential sectors.
The Atlanta visit will also include the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, which is expected to be the final major ministerial gathering before the group’s leaders’ summit in Miami. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the December summit.
The G20 discussions are expected to focus on economic resilience, energy security, artificial intelligence governance and regional conflicts. Under the US presidency, the grouping has prioritised economic growth, reducing regulatory burdens, ensuring affordable and secure energy supplies, and promoting innovation in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
Modi is also expected to visit Canada and Belgium, with trade negotiations featuring prominently on the agenda. The proposed visits are expected to focus, among other objectives, on advancing trade arrangements with Canada and the European Union.
The Quad meeting will provide an opportunity for Jaishankar and Rubio to engage on issues affecting bilateral relations alongside their multilateral discussions. During a visit to India earlier this month, Rubio confirmed that the leaders’ summit would take place in the Philippines alongside ASEAN-related meetings.
A bilateral meeting between Trump and Modi is also expected in Manila. If held, it would mark their second meeting this year, following their interaction on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in France.
The upcoming diplomatic engagements will place India at the centre of discussions on Indo-Pacific security, global economic cooperation and international trade. The outcomes of the Atlanta meeting and the Manila summit are expected to provide further insight into how the Quad partners plan to coordinate their regional priorities amid evolving geopolitical and economic challenges.
