The US views India as a leader within the Quad and appreciates its active role in the four-nation grouping, according to Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the White House National Security Council. Her remarks came just two days before the upcoming Quad summit, which includes leaders from Australia, India, Japan, and the US.
“When it comes to the role that we expect India to play, we expect and indeed see India as a leader within the Quad," Rapp-Hooper stated on Thursday. She added that the US's view of India's role is best represented in Washington's Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Since the Indo-Pacific Strategy was released in February 2022, the US has made significant efforts to advance its vision for a free, open, connected, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Rapp-Hooper emphasized that the US seeks an India that plays an increasing leadership role in the region and grows as a strategic partner with the United States.
Rapp-Hooper also highlighted the Quad's growing focus on projects in South Asia, a region that holds significant strategic importance for India. “We’re grateful for India’s leadership,” she noted, underscoring the collaborative nature of the Quad.
US President Joe Biden will host the fourth in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit on Saturday, where he will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
Rapp-Hooper praised the Quad as an effective platform for exchanging strategic views and identifying joint opportunities, aligning the interests of not only the US and its allies but also India. “The Quad has been an ideal venue through which, rather, we can work together because it not only allows for the critical exchange of strategic views where, of course, we are, as I say, increasingly aligned, but also it allows us to identify opportunities and priorities that not only matter to the United States or its traditional treaty allies like Australia and Japan but really matter to India,” she said.
In conclusion, as India strengthens its leadership role within the Quad, the platform is proving to be an ideal space for the four nations to collaborate on key strategic issues. India’s growing partnership with the US and its leadership in the region underscores the evolving dynamics of the Indo-Pacific and its broader implications for global security and prosperity.
(The content has been reworked from the PTI feed.)
