Quad foreign ministers meet in New Delhi, launch Indo-Pacific maritime surveillance and critical-minerals frameworks

The foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the U.S. Secretary of State met in New Delhi on May 26, 2026 for the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting, hosted by Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with Australia's Penny Wong, Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The grouping issued a Quad Foreign Ministers' Joint Statement, a factsheet, a Quad Statement on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, and a Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework. Ministers announced initiatives across maritime and transnational security, economic security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance/emergency response.

The headline deliverable was the first-ever Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC), pooling Quad members' maritime surveillance to enhance information-sharing and maritime domain awareness, with an initial focus on the Indian Ocean Region. The meeting capped Rubio's multi-city India visit (Kolkata, New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) that began May 22, during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, invited Modi to the White House on Trump's behalf, and oversaw a U.S. embassy ribbon-cutting. Talks also addressed trade friction after Washington doubled tariffs on India to 50% over Russian oil purchases, energy security amid the Hormuz closure, and defense cooperation.