The full text of the following statement was released by the US Secretary of State, the Australian Foreign Minister, the Indian Foreign Minister and the Japanese Foreign Minister.
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The U.S. Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan met in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 31, 2026, to discuss progress on the ongoing Quad initiative and reaffirm their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The Quartet ministers emphasized the importance of economic security in maintaining global stability and prosperity. They reaffirmed their commitment to building reliable and open global supply chains and trustworthy and resilient infrastructure. They expressed serious concerns about economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions, as well as non-market policies and practices that have led to overcapacity and disrupted global supply chains in critical industries. Recognizing the importance of critical sea lanes, uninterrupted flow of commerce, energy security and the unimpeded passage and safety of maritime personnel and vessels without the imposition of tolls, they reaffirmed the absolute need to protect and preserve the rights and freedoms of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in accordance with international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Quad ministers highlighted the importance of initiatives such as Super Intelligence (SI)* and Pax Silica to future economic growth and expressed their intention to provide more than $85 million in technical and financial assistance to support access to credible SI across the Indo-Pacific region, including through the Quad SI accelerator.
The Quartet Ministers expressed deep concern over the proliferation of cyber and online fraud that poses a threat to national and international peace and security. They denounce criminal syndicates for racketeering and human trafficking that forces them to defraud our citizens and steal tens of billions of dollars of hard-earned wealth from our respective countries each year. Quad countries are committed to disrupting these operations and holding transnational criminal groups and their leaders accountable.
The Quad ministers expressed their condolences for those who lost their lives in the flash floods on 26 August 2026 and emphasized their shared commitment to support partners in their time of need. They recognized India’s leading role as the first responder to Nepal’s rescue efforts and the strong support to Nepal from all Quad countries.
The Quad ministers welcomed progress on key initiatives to promote prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, including:
economic prosperity and security
· Securing critical minerals supply chains: Under the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative framework announced in May 2026, Quad member states have strengthened cooperation on critical minerals supply chains and worked together to recover critical minerals from e-waste and scrap to reduce dependence on any single supplier. They welcome private sector-led investment in waste collection networks, processing plants and refineries, and work with Quad countries to build trusted value chains for recycling critical minerals. They welcomed the US commitment of $10 million to promote infrastructure and facilities in India and ASEAN countries to recover critical minerals from waste. The Quad countries look forward to exploring simplified import and export procedures to facilitate the cross-border movement of recyclable materials and strengthen enforcement of existing regulations.
· Supporting energy security in the Indo-Pacific region: In September, the Quad convened the first Quad Fuel Security Forum to discuss our commitment to advancing fuel security in the Indo-Pacific region, including strengthening our respective strategic petroleum reserves and inventories.
· Boosting Fiji’s port infrastructure: The Quad countries are actively cooperating with the Fiji government on infrastructure modernization plans at major ports such as Suva, Lautoka and Rokobili. These include through the US-based Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is supporting Fiji in developing a strategic port development framework, and the Australian Government, which is assessing the feasibility of new transhipment port facilities.
· Build infrastructure capabilities across the Indo-Pacific region: To date, Quad countries have provided more than 2,000 infrastructure scholarships across the Pacific, Southeast Asia and South Asia, providing Indo-Pacific countries with critical skills to support a stronger, more resilient region.
· Promote commercial diplomacy: Quad Ministers announced the inaugural Quad Business Leaders Forum, which will bring together industry leaders, government and policy experts from Quad countries to strengthen connections between the public and private sectors, including facilitating business transactions in key sectors. The Quad export credit agencies will build on the 2024 Memorandum of Cooperation and will hold a meeting in Tokyo on November 18 to look for practical cooperation opportunities and further demonstrate our commitment to deepening economic cooperation.
· Advancing secure, resilient digital connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region: Quad countries continue to step up their efforts to develop trusted, redundant and high-speed cable routes in the region and share best practices for managing secure and resilient undersea data cables.
Maritime and transnational security
· Make the ocean safer: The second Quad Maritime Ship Observer mission successfully sailed from Chennai, India to Perth, Australia, from September 25 to October 7, with representatives from all four Quad countries onboard the Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel, an important step towards enhancing Quad maritime interoperability to address illegal maritime activities.
· Strengthen maritime cooperation: The Quad countries look forward to holding the first exercise under the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation Initiative at Sea Dragon 2027. The initiative, announced in May by the Secretary of State and the Minister of External Affairs in New Delhi, aims to enhance information sharing and maritime domain awareness.
· Improving Marine Domain Awareness (MDA): The Quad countries are pleased to announce that the first Quad Maritime Domain Awareness Track 1.5 workshop will be held in early 2027 under the Quad Maritime Training Initiative (MAITRI), which will provide a platform for regional partners to discuss MDA methods, technologies and information sharing.
Critical and Emerging Technologies
· Trustworthy communication network: In the spirit of the Quad leaders’ endorsement of the Call to Action on 6G Leadership and Security, Quad member states are committed to identifying priority countries for cooperation on trusted advanced communications technologies, including 5G, 6G, open radio access networks (RAN) and SI* RAN, developing a series of trusted 5G projects, and exploring future cooperation on SI* RAN.
· Semiconductors and SI* Hardware: The four countries emphasized the need to establish a secure, resilient and trustworthy supply chain for advanced, leading-edge semiconductors and SI* hardware. They will launch a new effort to identify disruptions in semiconductor and SI* supply chains before they cause them.
· Digital identity standards: The four countries continue their efforts to develop digital identity standards to make it easier for our public and private sectors to work together.
· Deepen cyber security cooperation: This month, senior Quad cyber officials met and committed to continuing to advance the unique capabilities of Quad countries to support a trustworthy and resilient cyber security environment in the Indo-Pacific.
Humanitarian assistance and emergency response
· Build disaster response capabilities: The Quartet continues to improve its capacity to respond to natural disasters through its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief partnerships. Australia, Japan and the United States will send observers to India’s annual Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise (AJHE-26) in November to build joint capabilities to respond to natural disasters.
· Developing shared logistics capabilities: Quad countries made significant progress in developing Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN) standard operating procedures during the second IPLN Tabletop Exercise (TTX) hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Defense in September. This will help the Indo-Pacific region respond to natural disasters quickly and effectively. The Quad countries will continue to enhance their joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) logistics capabilities, including during the next IPLN exercise held during the next Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
We look forward to convening the Quad Leaders’ Summit and the next Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and remain committed to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
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* In Australia, India and Japan, “superintelligence” refers to “artificial intelligence”.