WASHINGTON: Japan will host a meeting of the Quad framework, which also involves the United States, Australia and India, next year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the US National Security Council, said Friday.

Speaking at an online event organized by a US think tank, Campbell was believed to be discussing a Quad summit conference. The specific timing of the meeting is expected to be decided through negotiations.

US President Joe Biden hosted the first in-person Quad summit meeting in Washington in September, highlighting the unity of the four democracies that lay weight on a free and open international order as a counterweight against China’s growing influence.

The leaders of the Quad countries agreed to meet annually.

Campbell said the Quad meeting is an informal gathering, adding that there are no plans at present to make the framework a formal organization in the foreseeable future.

JIJI Press