Officials from India, Australia, Japan and the United States met in Singapore on Thursday — touted as the most important meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit. 

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This was the third meeting of the group — known as “the Quad” and seen as a counterweight to China’s growing economic and military might in the region. A statement issued here by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that officials from MEA of India, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Department of State of the United States of America met in Singapore for consultations on regional and global issues of common interest.  They also exchanged views on recent developments in the regional situation.

“The discussions focused on cooperation in areas such as connectivity, sustainable development, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and maritime and cyber security, with a view to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected Indo-Pacific region that the four countries share with each other and with other partners,” the statement said. They also  reaffirmed the ASEAN centrality as the cornerstone of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.