US ‘seeks an India that is increasingly a leader’ in Indo-Pacific zone

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s United States visit, the US National Security Council Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, Mira Rapp-Hooper, said “the United States seeks an India that is increasingly a leader” in the Indo-Pacific region, and a vital part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad.

The Quad is summit for strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. This year’s Quad Summit is scheduled to be hosted by US President Joe Biden at Wilmington, Delaware, the United States, on September 21.

The 2024 summit was earlier scheduled to be held in India but a venue shift was necessitated taking into considering the schedules of the four leaders. PM Modi then agreed to exchange host years with the United States, and India is scheduled to host the Quad summit in 2025.

“When it comes to the role that we expect India to play, we expect and indeed see India as a leader within the Quad. I think, the best encapsulation of, you know, the way we think about India’s role is captured in our Indo-Pacific strategy, where we say that the United States seeks an India that is increasingly a leader in the region and increasingly partnered with the United States,” Rapp-Hooper said at a press briefing.

“The Quad has been an ideal venue through for which, through which rather, we can work together because it not only allows for the critical exchange of strategic views where, of course, we are, as I say, increasingly aligned, but it also allows us to identify opportunities and priorities that not only matter to the United States or its traditional treaty allies like Australia and Japan, but really matter to India. So you see that through the Quad, we are increasingly working on projects in South Asia, which of course is a huge strategic priority for the government in Delhi. And we are grateful for India’s leadership,” she added.

On India hosting the Quad summit next year, Rapp-Hooper said: “We do expect next year’s Quad Summit to take place in India.”

“Prime Minister Modi graciously agreed to swap host years with us and we do expect all four Quad leaders to meet in India next year,” she added, mentioning how the schedules of the four leaders had led to the annual meeting being shifted to the United States this year.

Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri noted the opportunities for dialogue and action that PM Modi’s US visit would provide.

“There will be an opportunity to have a substantive engagement between Prime Minister and President Biden where they will have the opportunity to review the comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the United States, which today covers almost every aspect of human endeavour through the 50-plus engagements and bilateral dialogue mechanisms that we have between the two sides,” said Misri.

On India’s prospects of developing ties with the other Quad nations, he said: “We also expect to have bilateral meetings with the leaders of Japan and Australia.”