Quad Foreign Ministers Target Economic Coercion, Unveil AI and Mineral Initiatives
In a veiled swipe at China, Quad foreign ministers raised serious concerns over economic coercion, export curbs, and unfair practices disrupting critical global supply chains.
New Delhi: Underscoring the importance of economic security in maintaining global stability and prosperity, the foreign ministers from India, United States of America, Japan and Australia under the Quad grouping on Saturday jointly raised serious concerns about "economic coercion" like export curbs and practices leading to overproduction. The foreign ministers, who attended the Quad meeting in Atlanta, also expressed their intent to provide technical assistance to expand access to Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the Indo-Pacific even as the US committed to provide $10 million for recycling critical minerals in India and the ASEAN countries. The ministers also announced the first-ever Quad Business Leaders' Forum to foster greater ties across public and private sectors, including the promotion of commercial deals in key sectors.
In veiled criticism of China, the foreign ministers under the Quad grouping expressed grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including through arbitrary export restrictions, as well as non-market policies and practices that result in overcapacity to disrupt global supply chains in critical industries.
In a joint statement issued by them on economic prosperity and security, they underlined the importance of critical sea lanes, the uninterrupted flow of commerce, energy security, and the unhindered passage and safety of maritime crews and vessels without the imposition of tolls. In their joint statement they reiterated the absolute necessity to protect and preserve navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in accordance with international laws.
The Quad ministers highlighted the importance of AI and initiatives like Pax Silica to the future of economic growth and expressed their intent to provide over $85 million of technical and financial assistance to support access to trusted AI across the Indo-Pacific, including through the Quad AI accelerator. The ministers expressed their deep concern about the proliferation of online and cyber scams that pose a threat to national and international peace and security and committed to dismantling these operations and holding transnational criminal groups and their leaders accountable.
With regard to securing critical minerals supply chains the ministers welcomed private sector-led investment in waste collection networks, processing plants, and refineries, and work with Quad countries to establish trusted critical minerals recycling value chains. They welcomed the US commitment to provide $10 million to promote infrastructure and facilities in India and ASEAN countries that recover critical minerals from waste.
While advancing commercial diplomacy, the Quad ministers announced the first-ever Quad Business Leaders’ Forum. They said that the Quad export credit agencies, building on their 2024 Memorandum of Cooperation, will convene in Tokyo on November 18 to identify opportunities for practical cooperation, further demonstrating our commitment to deepening economic cooperation.
During the meeting, the Quad countries reinforced the need to build secure, resilient, and trusted supply chains for advanced, leading-edge semiconductors and AI hardware and agreed to launch a new effort to identify semiconductor and AI supply chain choke points before they cause disruptions.