Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting to be held on March 3

New Delhi [India], March 2 : The next meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers will be hosted by India on March 3 in New Delhi. The meeting will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while the Foreign Minister of Australia, the Foreign Minister of Japan, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America will participate.
The meeting will be an opportunity for the Ministers to continue their discussions held at their last meeting in New York in September 2022. They will exchange views on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and regional issues of mutual interest, guided by their vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
The Ministers will also review progress made by the Quad in pursuit of its constructive agenda and implementation of initiatives to address contemporary priorities of the region.
QUAD Foreign Ministers will exchange views on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and regional issues of mutual interest, guided by their vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, the Ministry of External Affairs informed.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Affairs Minister of Japan Hayashi Yoshimasa, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the Quad Summit.
Notably, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia earlier in February, launched a public campaign 'Quad Cyber Challenge' to improve cyber security across their nations.
The Quad invited Internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to become part of the challenge and practice "safe and responsible cyber habits," the National Security Council Secretariat said in the press release.
The 'Quad Cyber Challenge' shows the continuous efforts of Quad nations to bolster cyber security awareness and action and to foster a more secure and resilient cyber ecosystem to benefit economies and users.
In an official release, the National Security Council Secretariat said, "The Internet users are being invited across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to join the Challenge and pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber habits.
"It further added, "The Challenge reflects the continuing Quad efforts to strengthen individuals' and communities' cyber security awareness and action, as well as to foster a more secure and resilient cyber ecosystem to benefit economies and users everywhere."
Amid threats from China in the field of telecom and 6G technology, the Quad grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US also decided to ensure "security-by-design and best practices of cyber security," according to a White House press release in early February this year.
In a joint statement after the Quad Senior Cyber Group meeting in New Delhi on January 30 and 31, the Group said it was working on identifying best security practices for software services and products and minimum critical infrastructure cyber security requirements.
Observing that telecom security is a core function of national security, the statement said working in conjunction with the Quad CET Working Group, the Group will strive to ensure that security-by-design and best practices of cyber security are incorporated in Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) and 6G technologies.
The Group also endorsed the Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) efforts (of which Quad countries are members) to drive international cooperation and joint action to tackle ransomware including through information and intelligence exchanges, sharing best practices regarding policy and legal authority frameworks, and collaboration between law enforcement and cyber authorities to conduct counter ransomware activities, it added.