This is the first time the leaders of the four member nations are deliberating on expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Speaking at Quad summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "We are united by our democratic values, and our commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Our agenda today covering areas like vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies makes the Quad a force for global good."
PM Modi also outlined the agenda of the summit and said, "Our agenda for today includes covering areas like vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies which makes Quad a force for global good."
"I see this positive vision as an extension of India's ancient philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which regards the world as one family," Modi said.
"We will work together, closer than ever before for advancing our shared values and promoting a secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific," he said.
The prime minister said the holding of the summit shows that the Quad has come of age and it will now remain an important pillar of stability in the region.
In his remarks, Modi also thanked President Biden for taking the initiative to organise the summit.
"It's great to see you," US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the first ever Quad summit that is being held virtually.
In the first summit under the Quad framework, US President Joe Biden said that Quad is going to be a vital arena for cooperation in Indo-Pacific.
In his opening remarks, Biden also described Quad as a new mechanism to enhance cooperation and raise mutual ambition as they address accelerating climate change.
"We know our commitments...Our region is governed by international law, committed to all the universal values and free from coercion but I am optimistic about our prospect,” he said, in an apparent reference to China which is flexing its muscles in the region.
"The Quad is going to be a vital arena of cooperation in the Indo Pacific and I look forward to working closely with all of you in the coming years," Biden told Quad leaders as he requested Prime Minister Modi to speak.
In his remarks, Biden said there was a need to focus on generating domestic demand and driving sustainable global growth.
He also talked about having an ambitious new joint partnership that is going to boost vaccine manufacturing and strengthen vaccinations to benefit the entire Indo-Pacific region.
"We are establishing a new mechanism to enhance our cooperation and raise our mutual ambition as we address accelerating climate change," he said.
The US president also mentioned the commitment to ensure that the region is governed by international law and it is free from coercion.
"I am optimistic about our prospects," he said.
This is the first time the leaders of the four member nations are deliberating on expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and focusing on a coordinated Covid-19 vaccine initiative.
The genesis of the Quad lies in 2004 when the four countries formed a "core group" for a joint response to the Indian Ocean tsunami to undertake rescue and relief operations.
In many senses, that pioneering effort still determines the core identity of Quad, and the instinct for collective welfare and security for the people of the Indo-Pacific.
The salience of the Quad has run in parallel with the emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a key strategic region. With a growing similarity of assessments about geopolitical dynamics in the region, in 2017, the Quad dialogue resumed at the official level.
The Quad vaccine initiative is expected to project and reinforce India's credentials as a reliable manufacturer and supplier of the vaccines, reaffirming the country's stature as the "pharmacy of the world".
The four countries plan to establish a series of working groups that will focus on climate change; critical and emerging technologies, including working to set technology standards and norms and jointly developing some of the critical technologies of the future, officials said.
In November 2017, the four countries gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.
India's approach to the Indo-Pacific was enunciated by Modi in his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in 2018.
Inclusiveness, openness and ASEAN centrality and unity lie at the heart of India's Indo-Pacific vision. The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a key stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific region.
The strategic significance of the Indo-Pacific was also acknowledged by the US in 2018 when it renamed the US Pacific Command (PACOM) as INDO-PACOM.
Several European countries too have published their Indo-Pacific strategies, in recognition of the political and economic weight of the region.
The first foreign ministerial meeting of Quad countries was held in New York on September 26, 2019 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the second Quad foreign ministerial meeting in Tokyo on October 6.
The third Quad foreign ministerial meeting took place virtually on February 18. The meeting took place within a month of the Biden administration assuming office.
Earlier this year, for the first time the four countries appointed Sherpas to coordinate Quad-related issues. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is India's Sherpa.
The Biden administration recognised the significance of the Indo-Pacific region in its Interim National Security Strategic Guidance document.
To this effect, an Indo-Pacific Coordinator has been appointed in the US National Security Council to coordinate their Indo-Pacific strategy.