After more than two years without a meeting at leader level, the Quad is back on the calendar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, United States President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are expected to sit down together in Manila on Tuesday evening, November 17, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summits. It will be the first Quad leaders summit since September 2024, and the first ever held in a country that is not itself a member of the grouping.
Sources in New Delhi confirmed the plan to The Hindu on Saturday evening, adding that the meeting is expected to take place after Mr Trump lands in Manila. The White House has also confirmed that the US President will take part in a multilateral meeting with the Quad leaders, while Japan has confirmed Ms Takaichi will attend. The timing is tight. Mr Modi visits Manila from November 16 to 17 for the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit, and Mr Trump flies on to Shenzhen the next day for the APEC summit, where he is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin together.
What we know so far
The Quad, formally the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, brings together India, the United States, Japan and Australia. It was revived in 2017 and upgraded to leader level meetings in 2021. The last summit was held in Wilmington, Delaware, in September 2024. Since then, the leaders have not met as a group.
India is the current chair of the Quad, and it was supposed to host the summit in 2025 and again in 2026. Neither plan materialised, which is part of why Manila matters: this is the first Quad summit in a non-Quad country, held because India could not host it as chair. Reports suggest India may still host in New Delhi next year, but nothing has been confirmed.
The meeting has not been formally announced by any of the four governments. Officials in New Delhi said on Saturday evening that they were still awaiting formal intimation of the timing, and a senior US official has said no agreement is expected to come out of it. That framing matters. This looks like a working conversation between four leaders, not a signing ceremony.
What is on the agenda
Three themes dominate the reporting on what the leaders will discuss: critical minerals, energy supply chains, and the safety of commercial shipping.
- Critical minerals: The four countries have been trying for years to reduce their dependence on single sources, above all China, for the minerals that go into batteries, electronics and defence equipment. A Quad Business Forum mechanism may be announced to bring companies into the effort.
- Energy and shipping lanes: With two wars still under way and shipping under strain, keeping commercial sea lanes open for energy supplies is high on the list. Attacks on commercial ships are also expected to be discussed.
- Seafarer safety: The safety of crews on merchant vessels has become a recurring Quad theme, and it sits alongside the wider maritime security cooperation the grouping has built since 2021.
Regional security, economic resilience and emerging technologies are also expected to feature, though no formal agenda has been published.
Why it matters for India
For New Delhi, the summit lands at a useful moment. Mr Modi will already be in Manila for the 23rd ASEAN-India Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit, so the Quad meeting adds a second layer to a trip that was already about India’s engagement with Southeast Asia.
The meeting also gives Mr Modi and Mr Trump their first in-person conversation as Quad leaders since Mr Trump returned to the White House. The two governments announced a framework for an interim trade agreement on February 7, 2026, after months of difficult talks over tariffs. A leaders level meeting inside the Quad gives both sides a low-pressure setting to take stock without the weight of a formal bilateral summit.
What happens next
The summit itself is likely to be brief, fitted into the evening after Mr Trump arrives. Any joint statement, if there is one, will be watched for language on critical minerals and maritime security, and for whether the leaders commit to a date and a host for the next summit.
The wider week is just as important. Mr Trump travels to Shenzhen on Wednesday, November 18, for a trilateral meeting with Mr Xi and Mr Putin, a gathering that will shape the same great-power dynamics the Quad was built to manage. What the four leaders agree in Manila on Tuesday evening will therefore be read in Beijing and Moscow within hours.
The Quad has always been a grouping that does its work quietly, without a secretariat, without a treaty, and without the trappings of a formal alliance. Its value has been in the signal that four democracies can coordinate on the practical problems of the Indo-Pacific, from supply chains to shipping. After a two-year gap at the top, the Manila meeting is the first test of whether that habit still holds.
Frequently asked questions
When and where is the Quad Summit being held?
The leaders are expected to meet in Manila, Philippines, on the evening of Tuesday, November 17, 2026, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summits.
Who is attending the summit?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It will be the first Quad leaders summit since September 2024.
Why is the summit being held in Manila?
India, the current chair, was supposed to host the summit in 2025 and 2026 but could not. Manila is the first Quad summit held in a non-Quad country.
What will the leaders discuss?
Critical mineral supply chains, energy supply chains and the safety of commercial shipping lanes are the reported priorities, along with regional security, economic resilience and emerging technologies. A Quad Business Forum mechanism may also be announced.
What is the Quad?
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a strategic grouping of India, the United States, Japan and Australia that works on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. It was revived in 2017 and upgraded to leader level meetings in 2021. It is not a formal military alliance.
The four leaders meet in Manila on Tuesday evening. What they say there, and what they schedule next, will tell us whether the Quad is back to business after its longest pause.
