Quad Top Diplomats Affirm Importance of Like-Minded Nations

Washington, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)--The top diplomats of the so-called Quad countries of Japan, the United States, Australia and India affirmed the importance of cooperation among their allies and like-minded nations at a meeting Tuesday.

Following their gathering in Washington the day after the launch of U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration, the officials released a joint statement that they met to "reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific."

This is the first joint statement that has been compiled under the second Trump administration.

The meeting, which lasted about an hour, was attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

It was the first diplomatic event for Rubio, who took office Tuesday.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]