Minister Wong, Minister Motegi, Secretary Rubio,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have just concluded a very substantive and productive meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers, and I thank Penny, Toshi, Marco for being here, making the effort, and for what’s, as I said, been a very very good meeting.

Now, this is our first meeting in 2026, we have met twice in 2025. Understandably, much of the discussions and indeed the bilateral exchanges were devoted to the current state of the world. Being Quad, we naturally focused on issues of particular relevance to the Indo Pacific.

Because we are four maritime democracies located at different ends of the Indo Pacific, the exchange of perspectives was an exercise of considerable value. The maritime domain has seen a steady expansion of collaboration, including surveillance and domain awareness, logistics network, undersea cables, training, capacity building and HADR activities. We will be continuing to deepen these areas in the times ahead. We spent some time on the question of safe and unimpeded maritime commerce. And reaffirmed the significance of scrupulously observing international law.

Our four nations are also market economies. We believe strongly that economic resilience should be promoted, that supply chains should be strengthened, trusted and secure technologies diffused and production capacities enhanced. Our deliberations touched on the current energy and fertiliser availability as well as that of critical minerals and resources. The goal is to intensify cooperation amongst ourselves, while also assisting others.

We, the Quad nations, are open societies who foster innovation and creativity in our quest for growth and prosperity. These forces are strengthened when we undertake more exchanges, as we intend to do. So, whether it is in business forums, healthcare initiatives or digital activities, each facet of a joint effort makes the region that much better. As democratic nations, we also devoted attention to countering the common threat of terrorism. There must be zero tolerance for terrorism and nations subject to terrorist attacks have the right to defend themselves.

A free and open Indo Pacific has many dimensions and facets. Our meeting today took stock of the progress in many of them, while encouraging exploration in others. In the coming days, whether it is economic activity, energy trade or maritime commerce, the Indo – Pacific will become even more important to the world. The responsibilities of the Quad will grow commensurately, and we must prepare for that. So as the host, let me thank my colleagues for their valuable contributions in what has been a very productive and forward looking meeting. Thank you.