Building on existing leadership from Quad partners on high-standards infrastructure, a senior Quad infrastructure coordination group has been launched by the partner countries, said a White House statement.
The group will meet regularly to share assessments of regional infrastructure needs and coordinate respective approaches to deliver transparent, high-standards infrastructure, the statement said on Friday (local time).
It will also coordinate technical assistance and capacity-building efforts, including with regional partners, "to ensure our efforts are mutually" reinforcing and complementary in meeting the significant infrastructure demand in the Indo-Pacific, it added.
Apart from it, the Quad countries have been building quality infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Quad partners are leaders in building quality infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region. Our complementary approaches leverage both public and private resources to achieve maximum impact," it said further.
"Since 2015, Quad partners have provided more than 48 billion dollars in official finance for infrastructure in the region. This represents thousands of projects, including capacity-building, across more than 30 countries in support of rural development, health infrastructure, water supply and sanitation, renewable power generation (e.g., wind, solar, and hydro), telecommunications, road transportation, and more. Our infrastructure partnership will amplify these contributions and further catalyze private-sector investment in the region," added the statement.
US President Joe Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the White House for the first time in-person Leaders' Summit of the Quad.
The leaders have put forth ambitious initiatives that deepen the ties and advance practical cooperation on 21st-century challenges, by ending the COVID-19 pandemic, including by increasing production and access to safe and effective vaccines, promoting high-standards infrastructure, combatting the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies, space, and cybersecurity, and cultivating next-generation talent in all of the countries.
( With inputs from ANI )
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