India Postpones Quad Summit to Later in 2024, Citing Inconvenient Dates for Partners

New Delhi: India has postponed the Quad summit originally planned to be held next month to later next year. Sources said Tuesday that finalising the “revised dates” now are necessary since the dates that were under consideration were not convenient to all the Quad partners, that comprise the US, Japan and Australia. The latest developments come amid reports that US President Joe Biden is also not expected to travel to New Delhi next month to be the Republic Day chief guest after India had extended an invitation to him a few months ago. There has so far been no announcement from either India or the United States on the outcome of the invitation to President Biden as yet.

“The Quad summit in India is proposed to be held later in 2024. We are looking for revised dates as the dates currently under consideration do not work with all the Quad partners,” sources said Tuesday. It was initially understood that the Quad summit to be hosted by India would be held “early next year”, possibly in January itself. In all probability, the Quad summit may now be hosted by India only after the next general election after which the next government would be in place in New Delhi by May next year.

The latest developments are likely to trigger speculation on whether this is in some way linked to Washington’s concerns over the Pannun case. It may be noted that India recently set up a high-level committee to investigate certain US inputs on an alleged plot to kill US citizen and pro-Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun after the US linked two Indian nationals, including an “Indian government employee”, to the plot.

It may also be noted that Pannun has been openly making repeated terror threats against India, including against Air India and the Indian Parliament, but the US so far has not taken any significant action against him despite New Delhi raising concerns over Pannun’s utterances and actions. FBI director Christopher Wray is currently on a visit to India and the matter is likely to be raised by the US during the visit since Washington has made it amply clear that it takes the matter quite seriously.

It may be recalled that then US President Barack Obama had attended the 2015 Republic Day parade in New Delhi as the chief guest. Subsequently, an invitation had also been given to then US President Donald Trump to be chief guest at the 2019 Republic Day parade, but Mr Trump had expressed his inability to attend well in advance due to pressing domestic commitments at home. If President Biden does not travel to New Delhi next month, it will be the second time in four years that a US President has been unable to accept such an invitation from India.