As the leaders of India, US, Japan and Australia gathered in White House in Washington DC for first in-person Quad Summit, the group announced a new fellowship for students of these countries.

In his welcome note, the US President Joe Biden announced that the Quad leaders will soon launch a fellowship for masters and doctoral studies in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field.

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This fellowship will be open for students of all the four countries — the US, Australia, India and Japan.

Details about this fellowship will be released later when the four leaders release a joint statement about all matters discussed during their meeting.

The meet was opened by Joe Biden who announced the fellowship and thanked his fellow leaders for coming to Washington for the first in-person Quad summit.

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After Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the summit saying Quad is working for interest of humanity. “Our four nations met for the first time after the 2004 Tsunami to help the Indo-Pacific region. Today, when the world is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, we have come here once again as Quad for the welfare of humanity,” he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison congratulated his fellow leaders for accomplishing a lot in the past six months. “We believe in a free and open Indo-pacific because we know that is what delivers a strong and prosperous region,” Morrison said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga acknowledged Quad’s ability to support each other and other countries in times of need. “Till today Quad has given support, be it Covid or climate. Together we will be able to battle climate change and other challenges,” he said.