TOKYO: Leaders from the Quad countries, or Japan, the United States, Australia and India, at their first summit, held online Friday, agreed to help developing nations secure vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

The accord was struck on the basis of a Japanese-proposed concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Specifically, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that their countries will cooperate in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to developing nations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Biden said that the Quad countries will set up a new ambitious joint partnership to expand vaccine production.

The Quad framework will aim to provide vaccines made in India to Asian and African countries, with Japan, the United States and Australia set to back up the initiative, according to sources with access to the four-way summit. Details will be discussed at a working group to be set up later.

At the videoconference, the four leaders also discussed issues related to China, which is boosting its activities in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as well as to North Korea and Myanmar.

“Japan, the United States, Australia and India elevated their partnership to a new stage” at the online meeting, Suga told reporters after the summit.

JIJI Press