India Quad's driving force, says US

PTI

Washington, February 15

India is a driving force of the Quad and an engine for regional growth, the White House has said, days after the Foreign Ministers of the four-nation grouping met in Melbourne to discuss a host of issues, including China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and mounting tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine.

"We recognise that India is a like-minded partner and leader in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, active in and connected to Southeast Asia, a driving force of the Quad, and an engine for regional growth and development,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters here.

The Foreign Ministers of Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, last week met in Melbourne, where they vowed to expand cooperation to keep the Indo-Pacific free from "coercion", denounced the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, assessed the Ukraine crisis and asserted that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were part of the Quad meeting. —

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