In-person Quad meet is a sign of return to normalcy, says Australian envoy Barry O'Farrell
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Close on the heels of Quad foreign ministers meet in Melbourne, Australian high commissioner to India Barry O'Farrell has said that the gathering is a sign of return to "in-person meetings".Speaking exclusively to WION’s Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal, envoy Barry called the “incredibly important meeting” a demonstration of “four countries talking about the need to maintain a rules-based order within our region”. On Friday, the foreign ministers of India, Australia, the US & Japan met in Melbourne in an in-person meet after a gap of over one year. The last in-person meeting took place in Japan in 2020.In Delhi, the Indian and Australian Trade Ministers announced that an interim free trade agreement (FTA) would be finalised in a month's time. Meanwhile, speaking on the possibility of the India-Australia-France trilateral meeting in Paris, the envoy said that the 3 countries have “never lost sight” to the “commitment on the Indo pacific”. The ties between Australia and France had nosedived following the singing of the AUKUS pact between Washington, London and Canberra, a fallout that was seen on another trilateral meeting. It is an incredibly important meeting that is demonstrated by the in-person presence of foreign ministers of four countries who are talking about the need to maintain a rules-based order in our region. Great thing about this is that Quad countries continue to do what they do, focusing on practical things that are impacting people's lives in the Indo-Pacific—climate change, health, securing supply chains to build the economies. What we have seen with the Quad meeting today is the return to normalcy—the return of in-person meetings. We have seen trade negotiators from Australia this week. Our trade minister is meeting face-to-face with his Indian counterpart. We will see Indian ministers going to Australia in a couple of months.One thing is that France, Australia and India have never lost sight of their commitment to the Indo-Pacific. Fact that the Australian FM is going to Paris later this month is a great thing, but whether the proposed trilateral happen is up to the Indian and French foreign ministers as well.