Quad ministers highlight economic and maritime cooperation

Foreign ministers from the United States, India, Japan and Australia met in Atlanta on October 31, highlighting cooperation on supply chains, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and maritime security as the four countries pursue a broader Indo-Pacific agenda. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting, was the Quad’s third ministerial gathering of 2026, following meetings in New Delhi in May and Manila in July. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. A joint statement said the ministers welcomed a U.S. commitment of $10 million for infrastructure and facilities in India and ASEAN countries to recover critical minerals from waste. The funding is intended to support mineral recovery; the statement did not report that the money had been disbursed or facilities completed. The ministers also expressed their intent to provide more than $85 million in technical and financial assistance to support access to trusted artificial intelligence across the Indo-Pacific. The statement linked the effort to initiatives...