The top diplomats of the US, Japan, Australia, and India are eyeing a meeting in New Delhi later this month, with steps to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals likely to be on the agenda, Japanese media reported on Saturday.
It would mark the first foreign ministers’ meeting of the so-called Quad grouping since last July, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.
The four countries had planned to convene a meeting of their leaders in India last fall, but it was postponed due to strained relations between the US and India, in addition to President Donald Trump’s lack of interest in tackling global and regional challenges multilaterally.
It remains unclear whether the planned ministerial meeting will lead to a Quad summit later this year.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to attend the meeting.