The internet is shaken by a video of James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea bent down to touch the feet of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The incident took place post the landing of the Indian Prime Minister in Port Moresby for his very first visit to the country. The visit is also the very first by any Indian PM.
The Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit
It was in November 2014 when the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi visited Fiji that the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) was launched.
The Forum for India-Pacific Cooperation consists of 14 island nations. These include Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Palau, Niue, Micronesia, Kiribati, and the Cook Islands. These are situated to the northeast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean.
The FIPIC summit, 2023
The islands stated above are small in size. Moreover, they have a huge distance from India. However, a majority of these island nations have exclusive economic zones.
Exclusive Economic Zones or EEZs are actually the distance to which a country on the coast has jurisdiction over the ocean waters. Both non-living and living resources may be counted in the jurisdiction. Generally, the EEZs go 200 nautical miles beyond a country's territorial sea.
As per the website of the group, a great focus of India is on the Indian Ocean. Here, the country plays a significant role and safeguards the commercial, strategic, and other interests. In this sense, the Forum for India-Pacific Cooperation (FIPIC) is actually expanding India's engagement in the Pacific areas. Post the summit, PM Narendra Modi went to Sydney, Australia for a visit on May 23 and 24.
In the event, a reference to “developments in the Indo-Pacific region” was made. Moreover, a “vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific” was also discussed.
The Indian Prime Minister on Monday also made a statement at the FIPIC summit saying that “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. He also told the leaders of the fourteen nations that the ones they had believed to be trustworthy were actually not there by their side in times of crisis. This statement is believed to be a reference to China.
On May 24, 2023, the Indian PM is going to have a meeting with PM Albanese. Interactions with business leaders and CEOs from Australia will also take place.
As per the date 2021-22, $570 million is the value of the complete annual trade between India and the Pacific Island nations. Trade in articles like pharmaceuticals, mineral fuel, sugar, ores, and plastics was considerable. Among all these 14 countries, Papua New Guinea is the largest trade partner in terms of value.
The FIPIC Summit- EXPLAINED
The FIPIC 2023 was the third such summit held.
It was in the year 2014 that the very first FIPIC summit was held at Fiji's capital city, Suva. In this summit, India declared a myriad of development assistance initiatives. Many cooperation projects in the fields of trade, climate change, Tele-education, telemedicine, IT, economy, and more were also discussed.
The second such summit, the FIPIC- II was held in Jaipur in the year 2015. In this summit, India declared similar initiatives as in the first summit. What was special this time was that India called for a “dedicated seat for Small Island Developing States in an expanded and reformed UN Security Council in both categories”.
In the year 2019, the India-Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Leaders' Meeting was held in New York on September 24. The meeting consisted of leaders of not 14 but 12 Pacific Island nations.
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