Quad leaders to hold summit in Hiroshima tomorrow: White House

WASHINGTON: The White on Friday (local time) agreed to hold the summit in Japan's Hiroshima with US President Joe Biden on Saturday.

"After President Biden had to postpone his trip to Australia, the Quad leaders agreed that they would hold their summit in Hiroshima to ensure that the four leaders could come together to mark the Quad's progress over the past year. So tomorrow, in addition to the G7, President Biden will participate in the third in-person Quad Leaders' meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India," read a statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Earlier this week, the planned summit of Quad leaders from the US, India, Australia, and Japan in Sydney was cancelled after Biden withdrew from his visit due to ongoing debt limit talks in Washington.

"Along with sharing strategic assessments, the leaders will welcome new forms of Quad cooperation on secure digital technology, submarine cables, infrastructure capacity building, and maritime domain awareness," said Jean-Pierre adding that Biden had thanked his fellow Quad leaders "for their flexibility," and "looks forward to rescheduling his trip."

Earlier this week, Biden scrapped his planned trip to Sydney as well as a historic visit to Papua New Guinea. The decision -- which prompted Albanese to cancel the scheduled Quad summit -- was seen as a self-inflicted blow to hopes of a more visible U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific amid its competition with China in the region.

The White House said Thursday that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to Papua New Guinea in place of Biden to sign two security agreements, on defense cooperation and maritime surveillance, with the Pacific island nation in a bid to shore up support among countries in the region for countering Beijing, which has been extending its clout in the area.