00:00Joe Biden has put a number of personal touches on this Quad meeting, hosting leaders, including
00:08the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, at his old school in Delaware, and having them over
00:14to his personal residence in Wilmington, which isn't far from here.
00:18In the final months of his presidency, Joe Biden is trying to emphasise the importance
00:25he has placed on this Quad grouping, which also includes India and Japan.
00:31It was elevated to the leader-to-leader level in the early days of his White House, and
00:37was really seen as part of US efforts to try to counter China's expanding influence in
00:44the Indo-Pacific region.
00:46Now there is some uncertainty ahead for the Quad.
00:49Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election in November means he will finish up his term
00:56in January, when whoever wins that election takes over.
01:00The Japanese Prime Minister has also announced that he's stepping down, and Anthony Albanese
01:06will face a federal election expected to happen before May next year.
01:11Despite the questions that that has prompted over the future of this partnership, both
01:17the President and the Prime Minister argued that it would endure.
01:23While challenges will come, the world will change, because the Quad is here to stay,
01:29I believe.
01:30Unlike some international forums, the Quad doesn't have a long history.
01:38That means it's not defined by tradition, but it also means it's not confined by it.
01:44It means that as it develops, it can evolve.
01:49And that is, I believe, what is happening.
01:52Now one of the announcements made by the Quad leaders was again quite personal to Joe Biden.
01:58It relates to a US program called Cancer Moonshot that tries to reduce the number of deaths
02:04caused by cancer, and the President has been involved since he was Vice President in the
02:10wake of the death of his son Beau Biden from brain cancer.
02:14The Quad leaders have announced their own initiative as part of that program in an effort
02:20to try to roll out more HPV vaccines across the Indo-Pacific to reduce rates of cervical
02:28cancer.
02:29There were also announcements around increased maritime cooperation, particularly when it
02:34comes to combating illegal fishing in the region.
02:39Now Anthony Albanese sat down obviously with Joe Biden at his personal home yesterday.
02:44He met one-on-one with Japan's Prime Minister earlier today, but he was asked why he hadn't
02:50done the same with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
02:55He said that he would be having a quick discussion with him after these announcements had wrapped
03:00up.
03:01The Prime Minister had previously said that he would likely be raising Australia's decision
03:06to expel alleged Indian spies from the country in recent years, but he played down any suggestion
03:14that there was some tension there in the relationship between Australia and India.
03:19The relations between India and Australia have never been stronger.
03:23They're very important relationships.
03:25I've been to India, I've hosted Prime Minister Modi, and it's just a matter of logistics.
03:32Now this was a fleeting visit to the United States for Anthony Albanese.
03:36Once the leaders wrap up a dinner here on the school grounds, he'll be headed straight
03:40back home to Australia.
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