Foreign Ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), comprising the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, are scheduled to convene for a high-level meeting in New Delhi on May 26, Japan's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday, according to Reuters.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will embark on a three-day official visit to India starting Monday to participate in the deliberations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in India on Saturday following his attendance at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Sweden.
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The upcoming ministerial meeting follows extensive scheduling adjustments for the alliance. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had previously indicated that India was slated to host the Quad Leaders' Summit in late 2025. However, Albanese confirmed that the major leaders' summit was deferred to the first quarter of 2026, as per media reports.
Diplomatic sources indicate the delay stemmed from heightened bilateral trade tensions between New Delhi and Washington, precipitated by US President Donald Trump's imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods. This trade friction included a specific 25 per cent levy targeting India's ongoing procurement of Russian crude oil.
Ahead of the visit, Rubio emphasised the shared democratic values ​​between India and the United States, saying Washington looks forward to celebrating America's upcoming 250th anniversary in partnership with India, symbolising ties between the world's oldest and largest democracies.
The Quad's cooperative framework has evolved significantly since its inception as an ad hoc humanitarian coalition formed to coordinate relief efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The alliance formalised its diplomatic structure in May 2007 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in the Philippines. Following a decade-long hiatus, the grouping was strategically revived in November 2017 during the East Asia Summit in Manila, transforming into the critical plurilateral security architecture that defines the region today.
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