India announces $12 million grant for Pacific island states
In addition, a $150 million concessional line of credit that can be used by PSIDS to undertake solar, renewable energy and climate-related projects based on individual country needs was announced.
To continue the high-level engagement, the Prime Minister extended an invitation to all leaders for the 3rd FIPIC Summit to be held in Port Moresby in the first half of 2020.
The New York meeting brought together the Heads of Delegation of Fiji, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Nauru, Republic of Palau, Independent State Papua New Guinea, Independent State of Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and Republic of Vanuatu.
India’s relations with Pacific island nations have deepened with the evolution of the Act East policy, which has resulted in the creation of the action-oriented Forum for Indo-Pacific Cooperation (FIPIC). The first and second editions of FIPIC were held in Fiji (2015) and Jaipur (2016). During the FIPIC Summits, the Prime Minister expressed India’s desire to be a close partner to the Pacific Island Nations and its readiness to work closely together to advance their development agenda. This is the first time that the Prime Minister has met with PSIDS leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA in a plurilateral format.
The leaders deliberated on a wide range of issues, including sharing development experiences for the achievement of the SDGs, strengthening cooperation in the field of renewable energy, joining the new Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure , capacity building, implementation of projects under the India-UN Partnership Fund for Development and a roadmap for future India-PSIDS cooperation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that India and PSIDS have shared values and a shared future. He underlined the need for development policies to be inclusive and sustainable in order to reduce inequalities and contribute to the empowerment and improvement of people’s quality of life. He said that India is also committed to combating the impact of climate change and is supporting the efforts of PSIDs to achieve their development goals through necessary technical assistance and development.
Modi highlighted the reality of climate change and called for increasing the share of renewables in the total energy mix to mitigate many adverse effects of climate change. He also expressed India’s willingness to share its experiences in developing alternative energy. He expressed his satisfaction that many countries in the region have joined the International Solar Alliance and invited others to join this initiative. The Prime Minister also invited PSIDS leaders to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
Modi reaffirming his commitment to provide development assistance for capacity building offered to delegate technical experts to provide training and offered to organize specialized courses also under the ITEC program in priority areas identified by countries partners, including the training of diplomats from Pacific island nations at the Foreign Service Institute. In the health sector, PM offered to organize an artificial foot limb fitting camp in Jaipur at a regional center in the Pacific under the “India for Humanity” program.
To further enhance people-to-people contacts, the Prime Minister has announced a Distinguished Visitor Program under which eminent personalities from these countries can visit India. India would also welcome the visit of a parliamentary delegation from Pacific Island countries to India.
The PSIDS leaders hailed the initiatives proposed by Modi to enhance engagement and cooperation between the two sides and reassured the full support of their respective governments.
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