Days after U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China, India will chair a meeting of the Quad’s Foreign Ministers on Tuesday (May 26, 2026), with talks about a “free and open Indo-Pacific” on the top of the agenda.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will host his counterparts from the U.S., Australia, and Japan on May 26, at the end of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s bilateral visit to India. He has engagements in Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Agra, beginning Saturday (May 23, 2026).

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi have already visited Delhi in the past few months for separate bilateral visits, and are expected to arrive on Monday (May 25, 2026) for the Quadrilateral meeting.

“In keeping with the Quad vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, the Ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, D.C. on 1 July 2025,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, referring to the last time the Quad Foreign Ministers had met and recast priorities for the grouping that appears to have been put on the back-burner over the past year.

India was unable to host the Quad Summit last year, though it still hopes to do so later this year, depending on the schedules of Mr. Trump, and the Prime Ministers of Australia, Anthony Albanese, and Japan, Sanae Takaichi.

Hormuz blockade likely to be discussed

The MEA said the Ministers would exchange views on “advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern”.

In particular, the meeting is expected to take stock of Mr. Trump’s visit to Beijing, the ongoing talks over the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz blockade that is impacting trade and energy supplies across the region.

During a visit to Sweden for a meeting with NATO allies on Friday (May 22, 2026), Mr. Rubio said that talks had made some progress, but warned against Iran’s plan to set up a “tolling system” over the Hormuz Strait. Mr. Rubio is expected to discuss critical mineral initiatives and oil exports with Quad partners, as well as seek support for U.S. plans to ensure that Iran opens up the Strait for ships to travel through at the earliest.

It is unclear whether the Quad will also discuss the U.S. Navy’s torpedo attack on an Iranian ship near Sri Lankan waters on March 4, the first time such military action has been taken since World War II. It is particularly significant that the action, in which more than 100 Iranian sailors were killed, was taken by a Quad partner in the Indo-Pacific, given the grouping’s shared commitment to ensure peace and stability in the ocean region.

According to the MEA statement, the Foreign Ministers of Australia and Japan, and the United States Secretary of State are also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the External Affairs Minister and call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.