Pompeo to participate in QUAD ministerial meet in Japan on October 6

Washington, September 30

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Japan to attend the second meeting of the Quad foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan, his spokesperson has said.

The second India-Australia-Japan-USA ministerial meeting will take place in Tokyo on October 6 in which the foreign ministers of the respective countries will discuss the post-COVID-19 international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various challenges emerging from the pandemic.

“On October 6 in Tokyo, Secretary Pompeo will participate in the second meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan. He will also have meetings with his Japanese counterpart to discuss issues of mutual concern,” State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on Tuesday.

In addition to Tokyo, Pompeo will visit Ulaanbaatar and Seoul as part of his latest Asian trip from October 4 to 8.

He will visit Ulaanbaatar on October 7 and Seoul on October 7-8 for meetings with senior officials, Ortagus said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Tokyo from October 6 to 7 to attend the ministerial meeting of the Quadrilateral coalition and hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi on ways to further deepen bilateral ties.

The second meeting of the Quadrilateral coalition or Quad comes in the backdrop of growing global concerns over China’s military muscle flexing in the Indo-Pacific region.

The first meeting of foreign ministers of the four countries under the ‘Quad’ framework had taken place in New York in September 2019.

On its part, the US has been pushing for a greater role for India in the Indo-Pacific which is seen by many countries as an effort to contain China’s growing clout in the region. PTI