NEW DELHI: Emphasising the growing importance of Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), India's external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that the grouping is "here to stay, here to do and here to grow". Quad is a grouping of four countries, India, the US, Japan and Australia and the foreign ministers of these countries are meeting in the Japanese capital Tokyo today. 

The Indian foreign minister in his opening remarks said that it is "essential that our political understanding strengthens, our economic partnerships grow, our technology collaborations expand and our people-to-people comfort intensifies."

India is expected to host the grouping's summit later this year. The focus during today's meeting ranges from maritime security to connectivity to technology collaborations. EAM Dr S Jaishankar pointed to "significant additional responsibilities" of the grouping and as "political democracies, pluralistic societies, and market economies" they have to "uphold a rules-based order."

EAM emphasised the critical need for resilient supply chains and trusted digital partnerships to navigate the "re-globalization era". He highlighted that collective efforts are essential to safeguard the international system against disruptions.

The comments come amid Chinese aggressiveness in the region from India to the Philippines. The Indian minister pointed out that the grouping's "collaboration" can ensure that the "Indo-Pacific remains free, remains open, stable, secure and prosperous" and the "commitment to doing global good that we have all undertaken has a resonance far beyond this region."

The Quad which has its origin after the 2004 tsunami when the 4 countries worked together for humanitarian assistance has seen significant engagement, from the first summit in 2021 to working on vaccines delivered amid the Covid pandemic.

On the sidelines of the meet, Australia announced the launch of a new Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre to protect undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific. This initiative is part of the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience.