Quad Summit cancelled after Biden calls off Australia visit due to domestic issues
“We though will be having that discussion between Quad leaders in Japan...The Quad is an important body and we want to make sure that it occurs at leadership level, and we’ll be having that discussion over the weekend,” Albanese said.
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The White House announced early on Wednesday that Biden will return to the US after the completion of the G7 Summit in Japan on May 20, instead of travelling to Papua New Guinea and Australia as earlier planned. Biden spoke to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to inform him of the decision.
Albanese confirmed to the media on Wednesday morning that the Quad Leaders Summit in Sydney had been cancelled. “This is a decision that’s been made overnight...in the United States. The Quad leaders’ meeting will not be going ahead in Sydney next week,” he said.
He suggested the leaders of Quad, which groups India, Australia, Japan, and the US, could meet on the margins of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Breaking: White House announces that US President Biden will no longer visit Australia (for Quad), Papua New Guinea; will return to US after G7 summit concludes on Sunday pic.twitter.com/rclq9VSv74
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 17, 2023
“We though will be having that discussion between Quad leaders in Japan...The Quad is an important body and we want to make sure that it occurs at leadership level, and we’ll be having that discussion over the weekend,” Albanese said.
He added, “All four leaders – President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, Prime Minister Modi and myself – will be at the G7, held in Hiroshima on Saturday and Sunday. We are attempting to get together over that period of time, as well as I’ll have a bilateral discussion with President Biden. At this stage, we haven’t got a time locked in for that arrangement.”
Albanese also said a planned bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Australia might still go ahead.
There was no immediate word from Indian officials on whether there would be any changes to Modi’s itinerary for a three-nation visit that was announced on Tuesday. The external affairs ministry had said Modi would embark on a visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia on May 19 to participate in outreach sessions of the G7 Summit on May 20, the Summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation on May 22, and the Quad Leaders Summit on May 24.
Biden had planned to travel to Papua New Guinea and Australia to meet leaders of Pacific Island states and to participate in the Quad Leaders Summit and address the Australian Parliament.