The foreign ministers ⁠of ⁠Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. agreed ⁠to jointly build a port in Fiji and signed pacts covering critical minerals and energy security, as ​they sought to inject fresh energy into the grouping.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, the brief meeting between the countries' top diplomats - Australia's Penny Wong, India's S Jaishankar, Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. ‌Secretary of State Marco Rubio - was the ‌third such gathering of the group known as Quad since September 2024.

The group unveiled its first joint ​infrastructure project, a port in Fiji.

"We are going to be partnering on issues of port infrastructure, in particular in response to insufficient port capacity in the Pacific Islands, we are announcing plans to work with Fiji," Rubio said, adding that the initiative would be "a practical demonstration of our collective ability to deliver high-quality, resilient infrastructure."

"We ​are beginning to show real achievements and real accomplishments," Rubio said. "We are deeply committed to this partnership. It is a linchpin ​and a cornerstone of our global strategy ⁠as a nation in the United States."

He said the group agreed to launch an initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security and a critical minerals framework.

The minerals framework will guide how to leverage economic policy tools and coordinate investment to strengthen critical minerals supply chains - including in mining and processing - and in critical minerals recycling, Rubio said.

The Quad countries share concerns ⁠about China's growing power and Rubio - who arrived in India on Saturday for a four-day visit aimed at shoring up relations with New Delhi - has stressed the importance of maintaining a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

Beijing has criticized the Quad as a Cold War-style construct aimed at containing its development.