Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) undertook a three-day official visit to the United States of America (USA) from June 30 2025 to July 02 2025, at the invitation of USA Secretary of State Marco Rubio to participate in the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (QFMM).
- The visit focused on advancing new initiatives aimed at promoting a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
Key Highlights of the Visit:
EAM Dr. S. JaiShankar Inaugurated Exhibition ‘Human Cost of Terrorism’ at UN Headquarters:
On June 30, 2025, External Affairs Minister(EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar inaugurated an exhibition titled ‘The Human Cost of Terrorism’ at the UN Headquarters in New York.
- The exhibition was organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN and highlighted the devastating toll of heinous terrorist acts around the world and key measures taken by the international community to combat terrorism.
- The exhibition will be on display at two locations in the UN headquarters from June 30 to July 11, 2025.
EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar Attended QFMM 2025:
On July 01 2025, External Affairs Minister (EAM) attended the 10th QFMM, which was hosted by the USA Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C, the USA.
- QFMM was attended by Penny Wong, Foreign Minister (FM) of Australia and Iwaya Takeshi, FM of Japan.
Key Points:
i.The meeting brought together FMs of QUAD to build on the outcomes of their last engagement held in Washington D.C. on January 21,2025.
ii.QUAD group FMs reviewed the progress on ongoing initiatives and exchanged views on key regional and global developments, particularly those impacting the Indo-Pacific region.
iii.After QFMM, a fact-sheet was unveiled that highlighted QUAD is expanding maritime law enforcement cooperation which will support efforts to curb illicit maritime activity such as: piracy, drug trafficking, infringements on border security, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
iv.The Quad Foreign Ministers discussed the upcoming Quad Leaders’ Summit, scheduled to be hosted by India in late 2025, and affirmed that Australia will host the subsequent Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in 2026.
QUAD Nations Launched 1st-ever ‘At Sea Observer Mission’ :
The coast guards of QUAD nations have launched the 1st –ever ‘QUAD-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission’ under Wilmington Declaration, aimed to bolster maritime security and interoperability in the vast Indo-Pacific region.
- This newly launched mission involved the deployment of two officers, including women, from the coast guards of each QUAD nation, embarked onboard the US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Stratton, which is currently sailing to Guam.
Note: Stratton, commissioned in 2012, is one of ten legend-class national security cutters.It is named in the honour of Captain Dorothy Stratton, who led the service’s all-female reserve force during World War-II.
Key Points:
i.The cross-embarkation mission holds a great significance in QUAD Coast Guard collaboration, improving joint readiness, operational coordination, and domain awareness in support of a Free, Open, Inclusive, and Rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
ii.The participation of India in mission reinforces its strategic maritime vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and complements national efforts under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), which focuses mainly on capacity-building, humanitarian outreach, and maritime rule of law.
iii.The QUAD at Sea initiative lays the foundation for a ‘QUAD Coast Guard Handshake’, which aims to foster stronger trust, coordination, and collective resilience amid changing maritime challenges in the region.
Launch of Critical Minerals Initiative:
QUAD nations announced the launch of ambitious ‘Critical Minerals Initiative’, following the meeting of Foreign Ministers of QUAD group, held in Washington DC, the USA.
- The initiative aims to ensure the availability of critical minerals under a wider goal to bolster economic security and collective resilience by collaborating on securing and diversifying critical minerals supply chains.
- It also aims to counter China’s dominance in the processing and supply of key critical minerals as it has imposed restrictions on 7 rare earth metals in April 2025.
Foreign Ministers of QUAD Group Issued Joint Statement:
The Foreign Ministers of QUAD Group issued a Joint Statement after their meeting held in Washington DC.
i.The Joint Statement has outlined the opportunities and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and how to further harness the strengths and resources of the QUAD to advance peace, security, and prosperity, in collaboration with QUAD countries.
ii.The Foreign Ministers announced a new, ambitious and strong agenda focused on 4 key areas: maritime and translational security; economic prosperity and security; critical and emerging technology; and humanitarian assistance and emergency response.
iii.The QUAD group reaffirmed their commitment to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific and aimed to bolster energy security across the region besides promoting resilient supply chains and quality infrastructure projects that are transparent and secure.
iv.QUAD group is also planning to launch the ‘QUAD Ports of the Future Partnership’ by hosting a transportation and logistics conference with Indo-Pacific partners in Mumbai (Maharashtra) in October 2025.
About QUAD:
i.QUAD is an informal grouping of 4 countries namely, India, Australia, Japan and the USA, which aims to support an open, stable and growing Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.
ii.The 1st edition of QUAD Leaders’ Summit was held virtually in March 2021.
iii.The 1st edition of QFMM was held on September 26, 2019 in New York, the USA.
About United States of America (USA):
President- Donald John Trump
Capital- Washington, D.C.
Currency- United States Dollar (USD)
