India deepens ties with Pacific island countries

Welcoming the leaders of 14 Pacific Island countries to India for the second Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the summit sets an example of partnership of the century with their shared beliefs and aspirations. Giving the inaugural speech, PM Modi said that the closeness between India and the islands shrinks distances.

“This is the first regional summit that I am hosting in India and this one will remain very special for me. It is also special because India and the Pacific Islands are setting an example of partnership of the century, forged by shared aspirations and challenges and shared by belief that all nations small and large have equal stakes in this world,” said PM Modi.

Mr Modi spoke about the global world’s interdependence changing our perception of geography and that the global opportunities and challenges are shifting to Pacific and Indian Ocean Region. “For this reason, the tides that bear hopes and bring challenges to the shores in India and the Pacific Islands are the same. That is why some call the region the Indo-Pacific Region,” he said.

Assuring the island countries that India will stand with them in international forums, PM Modi said these countries are as important for India as any other nation. He also said India stands shoulder to shoulder with the countries for a dedicated seat for the region in an expanded and reformed United Nations Security Council. He said India would also support the realisation of the vision of Pacific regionalism. “It is a shining example of cooperative regionalism that should inspire others around the world,” he said.

The island nations taking part in the summit include Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Niue, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The first FIPIC was held in November 2014 in Suva, Fiji.

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