Japan's Security / Peace & Stability of the International Community

January 21, 2025
The Quad Foreign Ministers taking photo in front of the national flags
The Quad Foreign Ministers holding a meeting

On January 21, commencing at 3:05p.m. local time (5:05 a.m. on January 22, JST) for approximately 1 hour, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, attended the Japan-Australia-India-U.S. (Quad) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia, H.E. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, and the Honorable Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States of America during his visit to Washington D.C. for attending the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony. The overview of the meeting is as follows. This Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held on the day after the inauguration of the new U.S. administration. On the occasion of the meeting, the Quad Foreign Ministers issued a joint statement.

  1. The four ministers of the Quad reaffirmed the importance of the allies and like-minded countries’ coordination and commitment toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) and that they will further strengthen the cooperation.
  2. The four ministers held strategic and frank discussions on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, and confirmed their strong opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force including in the East and South China Seas. They also discussed the situation surrounding North Korea and Minister Iwaya expressed serious concerns over its nuclear and missile activities and asked for the understanding and cooperation of each country toward the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.
  3. The four ministers concurred on promoting cooperation to strengthen regional maritime, economic, and technology security.
  4. The four ministers concurred on holding regular foreign ministers’ meetings as well as preparing for the leaders’ meeting hosted by India.

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