'Quad has bigger purpose ...': Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday highlighted the significance of QUAD - a four-member grouping, comprising India, US, Japan, and Australia and said that it has a bigger purpose--in shaping a stable global order.

During his address to the Indian diaspora at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, Jaishankar articulated the importance of these democracies collaborating beyond mere security concerns.

He further elaborated that the QUAD nations share not only democratic values and market economies but also a commitment to global contributions, positioning them as maritime nations with a shared agenda. Jaishankar pointed out that the QUAD is not solely a security alliance; it encompasses a broader agenda that includes various areas of collaboration.

"The QUAD has a bigger purpose. You have four democracies, four market economies, and four countries with a strong record of global contribution, all of whom are maritime nations that have found kind of a common agenda on which to work. It is not a security agenda. The QUAD does many things," the EAM said.

He stated that the global contribution of the US would become less with a deficit that would either be left unaddressed or addressed by someone with a different vision for the global order or by powers with a common vision, noting that the QUAD was "option three."

"The kind of expectation the world has of the US in the 40s and 50s isn't realistic anymore... The global contribution of the US will be less. There will be a deficit and we have to ask if we leave the deficit unaddressed; it is addressed by someone with a different vision for the global order or those who have a common vision coming together. So the QUAD is really option three," he added.

EAM Jaishankar is on his five-day visit to Australia from November 3 to November 7. During his visit, he would be inaugurating India's 4th consulate in Australia and would also co-chair the 15th Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue (FMFD) with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra.


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