‘We view India as a leader in the Quad,’ US says ahead of group’s crucial meeting in Delaware

The United States views India as a leader within the Quad and is grateful for New Delhi’s role in the four-nation group, a senior White House official said.

The remarks by Mira Rapp-Hooper, the White House National Security Council’s senior director for East Asia and Oceania, came two days before the Quad summit, which includes the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

US President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio for the fourth in-person Quad leaders’ summit on September 21.

“In terms of the role that we expect from India, we do expect and see India as a leader within the Quad,” she said on September 19.

The best synthesis of how the US envisions India’s role is captured in Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, she added.

“…we are saying that the United States is looking for an India that is increasingly a leader in the region and increasingly a partner of the United States,” Rapp-Hooper said.

“Through the Quad, we are increasingly working on projects in South Asia, which is of course a major strategic priority for the Delhi government, and we are grateful for India’s leadership,” she added.

“The Quad has been an ideal place for us to work together because it allows not only a critical exchange of strategic views on which, of course, we are, as I said, increasingly aligned, but it also allows us to identify opportunities and priorities that matter not just to the United States or its traditional allies like Australia and Japan, but that really matter to India,” Rapp-Hooper said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the US from September 21 to 23 to participate in the fourth Quad leaders’ summit. The Prime Minister will also address an event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, Prime Minister Modi will participate in the Quad meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, which will be hosted by US President Joe Biden.

At the Quad Summit, leaders will review the progress made by the Quad over the past year and set the agenda for the coming year to help countries in the Indo-Pacific region achieve their development goals and aspirations. The next Quad Summit will be hosted by India.