At the third forum for India-Pacific Islands Summit held in Papua New Guinea on May 21, 2023, Indian PM Narendra Modi unveiled a 12-step initiative with Pacific Island Countries (PIC) as a part of the Act East Policy.
Most of the steps suggested by PM Modi are of pure development and welfare-enhancing nature rather than creating strategic stakes, as often seen in the engagement of countries like China.
This includes the FIPIC (Forum For India-Pacific Islands Cooperation) SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) Development Project, Solar Project for the government building, desalination units for drinking water, supplying sea ambulances, dialysis units, a 24X7 emergency helpline, Jan Aushadi Kendras, Yoga Centres etc.
India has decided to establish a super speciality hospital in Fiji, and additionally, through the Jan Aushadi Scheme, it will provide more than 1800 high-quality generic medicines at affordable prices. The Anti-Diabetes medication is available at up to 90 per cent lower cost at Jan Aushadi Centres as compared to market prices,
PM Modi also announced that a new Centre of Excellence for IT in Papua New Guinea will be upgraded and transformed into a “Regional Information Technology and Cybersecurity Hub.”
Around 1000 ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) training opportunities will be provided in the next five years under the Sagar Amrut Scholarship Scheme for the PIC nations. India has also decided to open a Jaipur Foot Camp in Papua New Guinea this year. Prosthetic limbs are offered in the Jaipur Foot Camps.
Amid the increasing US-China strategic competition in the South Pacific, India’s positive engagement on a neutral and constructive agenda in the region will set a trend of development cooperation with the Pacific Island Countries and ease geopolitical tensions. The increment in Chinese activism in the region has brewed suspicion regarding its hegemonic interests in the South China Sea.
The PIC consists of three major groups of islands: Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia, The fourteen countries comprise the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. These countries are rich in natural resources but need to be more developed.
They lie at the crossroads of strategically important maritime trade routes, which is the primary reason that world powers compete to gain a deeper foothold in this region.
India’s engagement with the PIC includes the dual creation of social and economic infrastructure and community-developed projects. The cooperation in education and health and harnessing IT and Digital technology for it has been one of the most focused areas.
India believes that the development story of the world, including in the area of sustainable development, would only be complete once the PIC countries are included in this journey. These countries need capital and technology to realise their development potential.
India has emphasised the need for development aid to the PIC and participated in the South-South Cooperation for the purpose.
India’s thrust on collaboration with the PIC nations in development and human welfare is not new. At the time of need, India stood behind the PIC through HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) to the PIC nations and supply of medicinal items and vaccines during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
India believes in shared responsibility in the world. Keeping this in view, India has established an India-UN Development Partnership Fund in 2017, with the primary objective of providing developmental assistance to developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries (LDC) and small island developing states. The PIC countries will benefit from this fund, particularly for sustainable development projects.
However, India believes that development cooperation rather than competition for a strategic foothold is required for peace and development in the region. This has been articulated several times by PM Narendra Modi.
In a gesture to display the extraordinary faith of the PICs in India, Prime Minister James Marope of Papua New Guinea touched the feet of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he reached there for the third PIC Summit. This stature is enjoyed by India, not because of its deep pocket but of its sovereign, neutral, democratic, principled, and more non-exploitative foreign policy.
