Quad important for critical minerals for India and Japan, Indian foreign ministry says

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FILE PHOTO: Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand together at the start of their meeting of the Indo-Pacific Quad at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

NEW DELHI - The Quad group of countries is important for India and Japan for issues including critical minerals, Indias foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the prime ministers of the two countries would discuss the grouping this week.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit Japan on August 29-30 for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit during which he will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba.

Modi will then fly to the Chinese port city of Tianjin for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on August 31-September 1.

The so-called Quad grouping includes India, Japan, Australia and the U.S. and New Delhi is expected to host the summit of its leaders this year amid a souring of its ties with Washington over tariffs imposed on Indian goods by President Donald Trump.

The Quad countries share concerns about Chinas growing power and dominance over critical minerals, and had announced a critical minerals initiative last month in an effort to counter Beijing.

Quad is indeed an important platform for