U.S. President Joe Biden will host a first in-person summit of leaders of the "Quad" countries - Australia, India, Japan and the United States - next week, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Monday.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

The summit will be held at the White House on Sept. 24, the official said. The prime ministers of Australia, India and Japan - Scott Morrison, Narendra Modi and Yoshihide Suga - are expected in the United States next week to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

A virtual meeting of leaders of the Quad countries, which have been seeking to enhance cooperation in the face of China's growing power and assertiveness, was held in March. In that meeting, the leaders pledged to work closely on COVID-19 vaccines and climate and to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of challenges from Beijing.

"Hosting the leaders of the Quad demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s priority of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, including through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century," the senior administration official told Reuters.