Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is set to attend a get together of top diplomats from the 'Quad' nations hosted by India, after he skipped a Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi to be present at a parliamentary committee in Tokyo.

Hayashi gained parliamentary approval allowing him to attend a Friday meeting of Quad nations that also includes the US and Australia, Kyodo News reported. Japan dispatched a deputy minister to attend the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in India that starts Wednesday.

A committee in the Upper House began debate Wednesday on the budget. All members of the cabinet are customarily present for the initial sessions of the budget committee, which is planned to run for two days.

Hayashi had said Japan would "diligently participate” in the events when he faced questions from reporters Tuesday over whether keeping the foreign minister at home for a domestic matter could be seen as a slight to India. Japan has been seeking to bolster security and other ties with Narendra Modi’s government amid growing concerns about China’s assertive behavior in the region, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The decision not to dispatch the foreign minister to the G20 meeting may have been more about internal politics in Japan, rather then sending any diplomatic message. Hayashi had already arranged bilateral discussions with some of his counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting, Kyodo previously reported.

Bolstering ties with India has been a priority for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government as it seeks partners beyond its sole treaty ally, the U.S., to counter security threats posed by the likes of China. The Quad is a prominent format for cooperation. It has grown in stature in recent years as a counter to Beijing, which has criticized the group as a "clique” that could stoke a new Cold War.