US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will convene the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan on Saturday for the third such ministerial gathering this year as preparations continue for a leaders' summit in Manila next month. The leaders' meeting is scheduled to take place during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in the Philippine capital from November 15-18.
The planned Quad leaders' meeting will mark the first such gathering since 2024 and will be the first for US President Donald Trump. Formal leaders' summits of the grouping of four countries known as the Quad did not begin until President Joe Biden took office in 2021. President Trump had been due to attend a Quad summit in India in late 2025, but that visit was canceled amid trade frictions and tariff disputes with New Delhi.
Following the Quad ministers' session, Rubio will conclude a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 major economies taking place in Atlanta. According to the State Department schedule, he has invited the visiting ministers to remain for a college football game. Rubio's elder son, Anthony, is a running back for the University of Florida, which will be competing against the higher-ranked University of Georgia team.
At a reception held at the Georgia Aquarium on Friday evening, Rubio reiterated his appeal for greater cooperation among G20 members in the face of complex economic and geopolitical challenges. "Because we all face these challenges, we must all work together to address them," he said. "The future of our nations depend on our willingness to understand that while our interests may not always align, we should always seek to work together to advance them when and where they do align."
Friday's sessions at the G20 exposed sharp divisions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Organizers abandoned the customary family photo after some European ministers declined to be photographed alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Rubio said he would hold a press conference once the meetings conclude on Saturday and expressed hope that G20 foreign ministers could set the stage for a successful leaders' summit planned for December 14-15 at President Trump's Doral golf resort.
Summary
The US will host Quad foreign ministers for a third meeting this year as leaders prepare to convene in Manila during ASEAN from November 15-18. The leaders' summit will be the first since 2024 and the first for President Trump. Concurrently, a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta has highlighted divisions over Ukraine and the Middle East and saw organizers cancel the traditional family photo after refusals to stand with Russia's foreign minister. Rubio hopes the ministerial talks will pave the way for a December 14-15 leaders' summit at the Doral resort.
Key points
- The Quad foreign ministers - from the US, Australia, India and Japan - will meet for the third time this year ahead of a leaders' summit scheduled during ASEAN November 15-18 in Manila.
- The Manila leaders' meeting will be the first since 2024 and the first attended by US President Donald Trump; prior formal Quad leaders' summits began in 2021 under President Biden.
- Tensions at the Atlanta G20 meeting over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East interrupted usual ceremonial practices and could complicate diplomatic coordination ahead of a December leaders' summit at the Doral golf resort.
Risks and uncertainties
- Deep divisions within the G20 over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East may hinder collective diplomatic and economic responses - a concern for international trade and global markets.
- Recent trade frictions and tariff disputes between the United States and India, which led to President Trump's cancellation of a planned 2025 Quad visit to India, underscore ongoing bilateral tensions that could affect trade relations.
- Disruptions to customary diplomatic protocols, such as the canceled G20 family photo after refusals to pose with the Russian foreign minister, signal fragile consensus among major economies and could complicate the process of preparing joint statements or coordinated actions.