The QUAD Foreign Ministers’ meeting held in New Delhi on 26 May 2026 comes at a critical moment in global geopolitics, when the QUAD’s efficacy and impact have come under severe stress in the recent past. This was largely due to Trump’s visit to China and the Trump–Xi rapprochement, amidst the ongoing military conflict in West Asia involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint triggering volatility in oil and natural gas markets. It has become evident that war and conflict not only carry significant human costs but also reveal deep structural vulnerabilities in global economic and energy systems. Further, the absence of a leaders’ summit in 2025 and shifting geopolitical priorities of the US led many scholars and observers to see this as evidence that the grouping was losing momentum, suffering from institutional fatigue, and “struggling to define its purpose.”
