What is the Forum For India-Pacific Islands Cooperation whose third Summit PM Modi will co-chair?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will co-host the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) alongside Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape in Port Moresby on May 22, 2023. He will reach Papua New Guinea after attending the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Read on to know more about the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and the importance India attaches to the Pacific Island Countries (PIC). 1. India’s engagement with the 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) is part of its Act East Policy. A majority of India’s engagement with PICs is through development assistance under South-South Cooperation - mainly in the form of capacity building (training, scholarships, grant-in-aid and loan assistance) and community development projects. 2. The Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) is a landmark initiative launched in 2014 as part of the Act East Policy. India and 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs), including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, Niue, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, Palau, Nauru, and the Solomon Islands, are a part of the FIPIC initiative. 3. Prime Minister Modi hosted the First FIPIC Summit in Suva on November 19 2014 during his historic visit to Fiji, with participation of all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs). The FIPIC II Summit was held in Jaipur, India, onAugust 21, 2015, with all 14 PICs taking part again. During the two FIPIC Summits, India announced initiatives across a wide range of areas to help the PICs in facing challenges and achieving aspirations for the well-being and development of its peoples. 4. Development partnership has been extended to PICs for socio-economic progress, through community development projects such as solar electrification, supply of agricultural equipment, computers and LED bulbs for schools, sewing machines, dialysis machines, portable saw mills, boats and pick-up trucks, vehicles, construction of sea wall, and coral farms. 5. All the PICs countries are vulnerable to climate change and to the effects of rising sea levels. Initiatives like International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) compliment India's relationship with PICs. Under the CDRI framework, India, along with Australia, the UK and small island developing states (SIDS) launched the ‘Infrastructure for Resilient Island States’ (IRIS) on the sidelines of the COP26 at Glasgow on 2 November 2021 to assist the SIDS from disasters and to mobilize technology, finance, and necessary information for Pacific islands and CARICOM nations in the Indo-Pacific region. 6. A project for solar electrification of 2,800 houses in 14 PICs has been undertaken under which 70 women solar engineers (called Solar Mamas) have been trained and electrification process is underway. This project, while addressing climate change and goals of sustainable development, also aims to provide livelihoods to women. 7. Development partnership with PICs has included support to infrastructure development, with a focus on sectors of education, health and culture. Other community development projects have included revamping of libraries and school buildings, renovation of colleges and provision of IT infrastructure to educational institutes, apart from setting up of digital libraries. India has also supplied indelible ink to Fiji and Papua New Guinea for use in their general elections. 8. A landmark programme in the health sector has been the Jaipur Foot Camp fully funded by Government of India organized in Fiji in collaboration with the Fijian Ministry of Health and Medical Services. Customized prosthetic limbs were provided to around 600 Fijians during the Camp. 9. India has been providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) to the PICs from time to time. India has assisted various PICs with supply of Covid-19 vaccines and medical supplies during the pandemic. 10. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund created in 2017 aims to support demand-driven sustainable development projects in developing countries, focusing on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and small island developing states. PICs have been beneficiaries of this fund.