Australia cancels Quad meet after Biden postponement; PM Modi may still visit

Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed the Sydney Quad meeting will not go ahead, after US president Joe Biden pulled out of his Australian visit to deal with domestic issues.

Early Wednesday morning Albanese was still hopeful the meeting with the leaders of India and Japan could proceed with a senior representative from the US, but hours later confirmed the event was off.

Instead, the Quad nations are expected to have a sideline meeting at the G7 summit in Hiroshima this weekend, with all four leaders still attending.

While a meeting is yet to be locked in for the Japan summit, Albanese said it was “appropriate that we talk”.

Biden’s visit to Australia, with a historic stop to Papua New Guinea having been confirmed in recent weeks, had been long anticipated and would have included an address to the parliament.

Instead, Albanese will hold a bilateral with Biden in Japan, and has been invited to the US later this year for a state visit.

It is not known when Biden will be able to reschedule his Australian trip.

Confirming the cancellation of next week’s Quad meeting, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday said that it is still possible that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will visit Sydney next week.

Modi is scheduled to travel to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia this month with the power-packed visit concluding ‘Down Under’ where he will address the diaspora.

“Prime Minister Modi has a bilateral program that is organised, so I’m certain that he will be here. And, of course, we have a very large growing diaspora here in Australia and there are events including a large event at Qudos Bank Arena to be held next Tuesday night (May 23),” Albanese said in a statement.