As the Quad squad met for the first time in-person at the White House, everything from covid, climate change to concerns on security was discussed with no specific mention of China in the dialogue.
US President Biden who hosted the summit opened the conversation by saying that the four democracies - the US, India, Australia and Japan - have come together to take on common challenges. "We know how to get things done and are up to the challenge," he said.
PM Modi emphasizing on the common thread of democracy between the four nations, said he would be happy to discuss issues like supply chain, global security, climate action, Covid response or tech cooperation with his Quad counterparts as the relationship evolves further.
The Quad summit comes at the heels of China's criticism of the grouping. Earlier on Friday Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called Quad “a closed, exclusive clique targeting other countries.”
Even though there was no mention of China in the statements given by the world leaders, India foreign secretary stated India did raise the issue of Pakistan's role in Afghanistan and its involvement in terror were discussed at Quad summit.