US lawmakers call for Quad inter-parliamentary ties

Washington, Feb 16: The US House of Representatives has passed a non-binding resolution calling for a legislation to form an inter-parliamentary group of lawmakers from the Quad member countries -- the US, India, Japan and Australia -- to further strengthen cooperation among them, which will essentially add another dimension to the dialogue and take it to another level.

The resolution says that this Act, which should be called 'Strengthening the Quad Act', and the formation of the inter-parliamentary group will “sustain and deepen engagement between senior officials of the Quad countries on a full spectrum of issues; and be modelled on the successful and long-standing bilateral intra-parliamentary groups between the United States and Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as other formal and informal parliamentary exchanges".

The resolution envisions the US parliamentary group as comprising 24 members, half being members of the House of Representatives and the other half from the Senate.

The legislation proposed by the resolution also seeks a strategy from the Secretary of State on “strategy for bolstering engagement and cooperation with the Quad”.

It needs to also describe “how the United States intends to demonstrate democratic leadership in the Indo-Pacific through quadrilateral engagement with India, Japan, and Australia on shared interests and common challenges”.

Since the rejuvenation of the Quad in 2017, the group has witnessed growing traction in the member countries with annual engagements elevated to summit level, mostly after President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

The four member countries have been cooperating on an entire range of issues, from health to technology. The security part of the dialogue, as envisaged at its formation as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, has been relegated to the background, although it remains a key issue bilaterally for each of these member nations.

“As we work to address the economic and security challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party, it is imperative that we strengthen collaboration and coordination with our democratic partners in the Indo-Pacific Region,” Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said after the passage of the resolution.

“I was proud to vote for the Strengthening the Quad Act to continue that mission and enhance political and security relations with the regional leaders, including India, as we work together to preserve our shared security and stability across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. I am grateful to Ranking Member Meeks for guiding this critical bill to passage in the House,” he added.

Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, had introduced the resolution in September 2023.