US President Joe Biden has cancelled his bilateral trip to Papua New Guinea and Sydney for Quad meeting due to debt ceiling crisis, the discussion expansion and consolidation of the security grouping is expected to take place between leaders of US, India, Japan, and Australia on the side-lines of this May 19-21 G-7 summit in Hiroshima.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday a Quad summit would not go ahead in Sydney next week without U.S. President Joe Biden, who postponed his trip due to debt ceiling negotiations in Washington.
Albanese said the leaders of Australia, the United States, India and Japan would instead meet at the G7 in Japan this weekend, after Biden canceled a trip to Sydney on the second leg of his upcoming Asia trip, which was also to have included a visit to Papua New Guinea.
Albanese told a news conference, “The Quad leaders meeting will not be going ahead in Sydney next week. We, though will be having that discussion between Quad leaders in Japan.”
The Quad is an informal group that promotes an open Indo-Pacific. Beijing sees it as an attempt to push back against its growing influence in the region.
India and Australia are not part of the G7 group of seven rich nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – but have been invited to attend the summit in Japan.
Albanese said, “A bilateral program in Sydney with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could still go ahead next week.” Albanese did not comment on whether Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would still visit Sydney next week. Nikkei reported on Wednesday he would not be travelling.
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