Biden opens home to 'Quad' leaders for farewell summit

U.S. President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Australia, Japan and India at his Delaware home this weekend to bid farewell to the so-called "Quad" group that he has pushed as a counterweight to China.

Biden chose his hometown of Wilmington for the summit of the four-nation group -- the last of his presidency after he dropped out of the 2024 election against Donald Trump and handed the Democratic reins to Kamala Harris.

He will hold one-on-one meetings at his Wilmington home, starting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday night and continuing Saturday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Biden will then host a dinner and full four-way summit on Saturday at his former high school in the city.

"This will be President Biden's first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president -- a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Vice President Harris will not be attending, the White House said.

The Quad grouping dates back to 2007, but Biden has strongly pushed it as part of an emphasis on international alliances after the isolationist Trump years.

China was expected to feature heavily in their discussions amid tensions with Beijing, particularly a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.

"It will certainly be high on the agenda," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, adding that the four leaders had a "common understanding about the challenges that the PRC (People's Republic of China) is posing."

The White House, however, faced criticism for giving only limited access to the press throughout the weekend, with reporters questioning whether it was at the request of the notoriously media-shy Modi.

The Hindu nationalist was coaxed to take two questions during a state visit to the White House in 2023, but had not held an open press conference at home in his previous nine years in power.

The White House insisted Biden would not shy away from addressing rights issues with Modi, who has faced accusations of growing authoritarianism.

"There's not a conversation that he has with foreign leaders where he doesn't talk about the importance of respecting human and civil rights, and that includes with Prime Minister Modi," Kirby said.

India is due to host the next Quad summit in 2025.

Biden is famously proud of his home in Wilmington, around 176 kilometers from Washington, where he frequently spends weekends away from the confines of the White House.

It hit the headlines when classified documents were found in its garage, next to his Corvette sports car, in 2022. Biden was not charged.

© 2024 AFP