President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday received the heads of States and representatives of the 14 Pacific Island countries at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. They have all gathered in India for the second summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Co-operation (FIPIC).
The island nations participating in the FIPIC summit are Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Micronesia, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Addressing the leaders and delegations, Mukherjee said India proposed to enhance engagement with them in sectors like human resource development, capacity building, healthcare, affordable, clean and renewable energy, adaptation measures for disaster management and infrastructure development.
While stressing that since these Pacific Ocean islands are generously endowed with natural resources, he said India would be happy to work with them in harnessing these resources. “We would be happy to work with you in harnessing your mineral, marine and hydrocarbon resources. Our Government and private sector are keen to strengthen and diversify our bilateral trade and encourage investments in fisheries, agriculture, oil and natural gas, mining and water desalination,” President said.
He added it would be in the interest of FIPIC members to identify their complementarities so that focused efforts can be made on these. “Towards this end, India’s annual grant-in-aid to each Pacific Island country has been enhanced from $125,000 to $200,000 last year. We hope this will support specific projects prioritised by you,” he added.
Mukherjee also highlighted the challenges faced by India and Pacific countries due to climate change. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had offered the island countries India’s expertise and technology to mitigate threat of climate change, and cooperation in renewable energy.
The delegates later visited Taj Mahal. They will reach Jaipur by Friday for the Summit.