WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to host the first in-person gathering of leaders of the Indo-Pacific alliance known as “the Quad” on Friday.
The meeting will wrap up a tough week of diplomacy in which he faced no shortage of criticism from both allies and adversaries.
Biden’s meeting with leaders from India, Japan and Australia at the White House gives the U.S. president a chance to put the spotlight on a central aim of his foreign policy.
He wants to focus greater attention on the Pacific in the face of what the U.S. sees as China’s coercive economic practices and unsettling military maneuvering in the region.
According to The Associated Press, the leaders on Friday are expected to announce a COVID-19 vaccine initiative, plans to bolster supply chains and a program that will bring graduate and doctoral students in STEM fields to U.S. universities.
Biden will meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at the White House Friday at 2 p.m.