By Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with counterparts from Australia, India and Japan on Tuesday, a meeting he said will stress the importance of working with allies "on the things that are important to America and Americans.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from the other three QUAD nations reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific where "sovereignty and territorial integrity are upheld and defended.

In today's episode of India Global, On his first full day in office, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first Quad meeting with Australia, India, and Japan. This was the first major diplomatic session of the Quad since Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington and said the invitation for Quad foreign ministers to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration showed an "iron-clad commitment" to close cooperation in the Indo Pacific region.

The ministerial meeting will underscore that the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is attaching importance to collaboration among the four nations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan as the Trump administration kicks off its formal foreign policy engagements in discussions with the Indo-Pacific “Quad.

The U.S. secretary of state and the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan are expected to meet in Washington on Tuesday, the day after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, people familiar with the matter said.

First diplomatic engagement of Trump team focuses on eco, security, tech coop in Indo-Pacific; Jaishankar says will think bigger and deepen agenda

Quad Foreign Ministers met in Washington and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with Quad Foreign Ministers in Washington, strengthening regional cooperation. The meeting highlights strategic ties between the US,