QUAD foreign ministers to meet on Tuesday in Tokyo

Quad countries India, Japan, US and Australia foreign ministers will meet on Tuesday in Tokyo at 5 pm local time or 1.30 pm IST.

Foreign ministers of all four Quad countries - US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Indian External Affairs minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will be present for the face-to-face meeting, a first amid the pandemic.

It is the second such Quad FMs meet. Last year, all FMs of Quad countries had met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA).

Ministry of external affairs in a release said,"Foreign Ministers shall discuss the post-COVID-19 international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various challenges emerging from the pandemic."

The release said, four ministers, will also "discuss regional issues and collectively affirm the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific."

On the sidelines of the meet, EAM will also have bilaterals with his Quad counterparts, including the US Secretary of State. It takes place even as India and the US are getting ready for 2+2 foreign and defence ministers meeting that will take place later this month.

It is the first major diplomatic engagement of the new Japanese Prime minister Yoshihide Suga, the grouping whose focus is on "free and open" Indo-Pacific which is viewed suspiciously by China.