India has introduced a new initiative to grant fifty Quad scholarships, totaling $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific region. These scholarships will allow students to pursue a four-year undergraduate engineering degree at a technical institution funded by the Government of India, according to the Wilmington Declaration released following the fourth in-person Quad Summit.
The Quad Leaders' Summit, hosted by President Joe Biden, was held in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. Attendees included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan. "India is pleased to announce a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering programme at a Government of India-funded technical institution", the declaration read.
The declaration states that the Quad is dedicated to reinforcing the strong and lasting connections among our people and partners. With the Quad Fellowship, we are creating a network for the next generation of leaders in science, technology, and policy. The Quad governments also welcomed the second cohort of Quad Fellows through the Institute of International Education, which oversees the implementation of the fellowship. For the first time, students from ASEAN countries will also be included, according to the declaration.
The Government of Japan is supporting the programme to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital, the declaration read.
This year's Quad Leaders' Summit was originally planned to take place in India, but President Biden expressed a desire to host it in his hometown. In 2017, the US, Japan, India, and Australia formalized the long-discussed idea of establishing the "Quad" or Quadrilateral coalition to address China's assertive actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
The four-member Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, advocates upholding a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. China claims that the grouping aims to contain its rise. The summit this year is a farewell event for both US President Biden and Japan Prime Minister Kishida before they step down from their respective offices.
On space, the Quad leaders recognize the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. "Our four countries intend to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events", the declaration said. The declaration noted that the Quad leaders welcomed India's creation of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, aimed at promoting the concept of open science for monitoring extreme weather events and assessing climate impact.
