Senior Quad officials meet: PM Modi speaks to Japan counterpart, focus on open and inclusive Indo-Pacific

At the Quad officials’ meeting, they also discussed a host of “issues on regional and global issues of common interest” — an oblique reference to Beijing.

In the context of the pandemic, the officials “underscored the importance of enhancing the resilience of supply chains and sharing best practices on how to combat the pandemic”, an MEA statement said.

“The officials reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on shared values and principles and respect for international law,” it said.

The officials reiterated their firm support for ASEAN Centrality and ASEAN-led mechanisms, particularly the leaders-led East Asia Summit, in the regional architecture for the Indo-Pacific, and their readiness to work with ASEAN and all other countries towards realising a common and promising vision for the Indo-Pacific. They appreciated the Vietnamese chairmanship of the ASEAN and looked forward to the 15th East Asia Summit in November this year.

Following up on the last such official-level discussions in November 2019, and the ministerial engagement of September 2019, the officials exchanged views on ongoing and proposed practical cooperation in areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, and security matters, including counter-terrorism, cyber and maritime security, with the objective of promoting peace, security, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.

During his call with Suga, Modi congratulated the Japanese PM on his appointment and wished him success in achieving his goals, a statement said.

The two leaders agreed that the India-Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership has made “great advances over the last few years and expressed their intention to further strengthen this relationship based upon mutual trust and shared values”.

The two leaders “appreciated the progress made in the economic partnership between the two countries, and in this context, welcomed the finalization of the text of the agreement pertaining to specialized skilled workers”.