The Quad grouping of India, the United States, Japan and Australia has unveiled a major new initiative aimed at expanding access to trusted artificial intelligence technologies across the Indo-Pacific, alongside fresh American support for critical minerals recycling projects in India and Southeast Asia.

The announcements were made following a meeting of the four nations' foreign ministers on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong participated in the discussions, which focused on economic security, advanced technologies, resilient supply chains and regional cooperation.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the Quad partners said they intend to provide more than $85 million in technical and financial assistance to improve access to trusted artificial intelligence capabilities across the Indo-Pacific.

The funding is expected to be channelled through initiatives including the Quad AI Accelerator, which is designed to support innovation, capability-building and broader adoption of trusted AI technologies across the region.

Highlighting the growing strategic importance of emerging technologies, the ministers also underscored the role of the Pax Silica initiative in supporting future economic growth, strengthening technology ecosystems and deepening cooperation among regional partners.

“The Quad ministers highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence and initiatives like Pax Silica to the future of economic growth and expressed their intent to provide over USD 85 million of technical and financial assistance to support access to trusted AI across the Indo-Pacific, including through the Quad AI Accelerator.”

Alongside the AI package, the United States committed a separate $10 million towards critical minerals recycling initiatives in India and ASEAN member states. The move is intended to strengthen resilient supply chains and improve access to strategically important minerals that are essential for advanced manufacturing, clean energy technologies, semiconductors, electronics and other high-technology sectors.

The commitment builds on the Quad's broader efforts to diversify and secure critical mineral supply chains, an area that has become increasingly important amid growing global competition for key industrial resources.

The ministers also announced the creation of the first Quad Business Leaders' Forum, a new platform intended to bring together governments and private-sector stakeholders to encourage investment, commercial partnerships and collaboration across strategic industries.

To further advance economic cooperation, the Quad's export credit agencies are scheduled to meet in Tokyo on November 18 to explore practical avenues for collaboration and identify opportunities to support regional development and investment initiatives.

The Atlanta gathering marked the third Quad foreign ministers' meeting of 2026, following earlier engagements in New Delhi in May and Manila in July. The steady pace of consultations reflects the group's expanding agenda covering economic security, critical technologies, maritime cooperation and supply-chain resilience.

In addition to technology and economic matters, the ministers discussed strengthening maritime defence cooperation, protecting rare-earth and critical mineral supply networks, and accelerating collaboration in advanced technology sectors.

“As our nations continue building reliable and open supply chains, supporting next-generation technologies, increasing maritime cooperation and securing critical minerals, the United States, Australia, India and Japan are delivering results for our people and the nations in the region,” Rubio said.

Preparations are now underway for the next Quad Leaders' Summit, which is expected to be hosted by US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the ASEAN-East Asia Summits in mid-November. 

Officials believe the summit could provide fresh momentum to the Quad's economic, technological and strategic initiatives across the Indo-Pacific, particularly in areas such as trusted AI, semiconductor supply chains, critical minerals and emerging technologies.

ANI