Scott Morrison to meet with US President Joe Biden in Quad meeting next week

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has secured a face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden as the White House plays host to the first ever Quad meeting next week.

It will be the first in-person summit of the leaders of the “Quad” nations – Australia, US, Japan and India.

In a statement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the summit would be held at the White House on September 24.

The Quad Leaders would “be focused on deepening our ties and advancing practical co-operation on areas such as combating Covid-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

“Hosting the leaders of the Quad demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration‘s priority of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, including through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” Ms Psaki said.

At a virtual meeting of the Quad in March, leaders pledged to work closely on Covid-19 vaccines in Southeast Asia, climate and “the free and open Indo-Pacific” amid challenges from Beijing.

Last week Mr Morrison said he was looking forward to the next Quad meeting.

“We are expecting for the next face-to-face meeting of the Quad to be held in Washington later this month and we’re still awaiting final details of that and I’ll look forward to be in Washington to be part of those discussions with my counterparts from India, Japan and the United States,” he said.