Tokyo [Japan]: Underlining that the world is at a “transformative moment” and the Russia-Ukraine war is not only a European but global issue, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said Indo-Pacific powers are going to be partners and lead a global response amid the Ukraine conflict.

Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine that has completed three months, Biden, in his opening remarks at the Quad Leaders Summit meeting in Tokyo, said the world is navigating the ship through a dark time. “Russia’s war on Ukraine has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe and innocent civilians have been killed in the streets.”

Highlighting the divide between “democracy and autocracy”, Biden started off his speech by saying that the partnership between the US, Australia, Japan and India is central to achieving the key goals in the field of healthcare and technology and supply chain resilience.

He said Quad nations have already accomplished a great deal. “The Cooperating on COVID-19 response, health and security. Partnering on 5G and other technologies supply chains and technology standard-setting and launching our Quad fellowship programme.”

“The Quad has a lot of work ahead of us. We have a lot of work to keep this region peaceful and stable, tacking this pandemic and next and addressing the climate crisis,” said Biden at Quad Leaders’ meet in his opening remarks.

“US will be a strong, steady and enduring partner in Indo-Pacific. We are Indo-Pacific powers. As long as Russia continues the war, we are going to be partners and lead a global response. We stay together for the shared values and vision we have,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke before Biden, said the mutual trust, and determination of the member countries including the US, Australia and Japan is giving new energy and enthusiasm to democratic powers.

“Quad has made an important place for itself before the world in such a short span of time. Today, Quad’s scope has become extensive, its form effective. Our mutual trust, and our determination is giving new energy and enthusiasm to democratic powers,” said PM Modi.

The leaders of the Quad nations–Australia, India, Japan, and the United States–are meeting today for the fourth time and the second time in person.

Established in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami to coordinate humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the Quad has since become a leading regional partnership dedicated to advancing a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific through practical cooperation on diverse 21st-century challenges.

PM Modi noted that despite the difficult circumstance of COVID-19, the member countries have increased mutual coordination in several areas like vaccine delivery, climate action, supply change resilience, disaster management and economic cooperation.

The Summit in Tokyo is the fourth interaction of Quad Leaders since their first virtual meeting in March 2021, in-person Summit in Washington D.C. in September 2021 and virtual meeting in March 2022.

The Quad Summit provides an opportunity for the leaders to exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and contemporary global issues of mutual interest.