India, along with America, Japan, and Australia, is a key member of the Quad Group, formed in 2017 to counter the Dragon’s growing influence in the South China Sea. US lawmakers are now proposing to upgrade the Quad and establish a Quad Inter-Parliamentary Working Group to strengthen the Quad.

Congressman Gregory Meeks, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasized the importance of democracies in the Indo-Pacific working together to maintain regional rules and benefit the region’s people. He urged parliamentarians to be associated with the Quad to improve relations between other countries.

Meeks proposed a comprehensive strategy to advance Quad cooperation and the establishment of a Quad Inter-Parliamentary Working Group to enhance dialogue between the legislatures of the four Quad countries. The formation of the Quad Intra-Parliamentary Working Group builds on the successful bilateral inter-parliamentary groups between the US, Mexico, Canada, and the UK.

The Quad countries are working through institutions such as the United States International Development Finance Corporation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and partnerships with the World Bank and multilateral development banks. The Asian Development Bank should finance competitive, transparent, and sustainable development and infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region.