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Stating that India's multifaceted engagement with the Blue Pacific Continent is anchored in our Act East Policy, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita reaffirmed New Delhi's strong commitment to work with Pacific partner nations for sustainable development.
Margherita announced that India will undertake one Quick Impact Project (QIP) of each country's choice worth USD 50,000 in each of the 14 Pacific Island Countries. Addressing the Pacific Islands Forum, the MoS said, "India's multifaceted engagement with the Blue Pacific Continent is anchored in our Act East Policy and is strengthened both bilaterally and through different mechanisms such as the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)." "India's approach to the Blue Pacific Continent is based on our ancient philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or the 'World is one Family'," he added. He further elaborated on India's approach and the significance New Delhi attaches to this relationship. Margherita said India's bilateral development partnership in the form of grant-in-aid projects worth about USD 3 million per annum is demand-driven and has had a high impact in the 14 Pacific partner countries. He recalled that during the 3rd FIPIC Summit in Papua last year, New Guinea Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 12-Point Action Plan. This includes the setting up of a 100-bedded regional Super-specialty Hospital in Suva, Fiji, a Regional IT and Cyber Security Training Hub in Papua New Guinea, 1000 Scholarships over the next five years, a supply of Dialysis Units, and Generic Medicine Pharmacy outlets. "Our Pacific friends have benefited from the India-UN Development Partnership Fund which supports demand-driven sustainable development projects such as the Parametric Micro-insurance project in Fiji, the construction of water cistern in Tuvalu and the solarisation of the Langafonua building of Tonga's National Council for Women which will be commissioned tomorrow," he stated. He emphasised that the 3rd Voice of the Global South Summit (VOGSS) hosted by India recently had an overarching theme of "An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future". The summit was joined by over 120 countries including many PIF members and provided valuable input. The MoS said India shares the concerns of Pacific nations regarding the threat posed by climate change and rising sea levels and highlighted New Delhi's commitment to achieving its emission targets and global initiatives. "India shares your concern regarding the threat posed by climate change and rising sea levels. India has successfully reduced the emission intensity vis-a-vis its GDP by 33 per cent between 2005 and 2019, thus achieving the initial Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target for 2030, 11 years ahead of the scheduled time," Margherita said. "India leads a number of global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Green Grids Initiative -- One Sun, One World, One Grid, the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS), the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and the Global Biofuel Alliance which benefit our Pacific partners," he added. Margherita added that India is committed to responding to the vulnerabilities caused by natural hazards in the Pacific. While announcing India undertaking 14 Quick Impact Projects, the MoS reaffirmed India's strong commitment to work closely with Pacific partner countries and the Pacific Islands Forum. "As part of our continuous solidarity with our Pacific Partner Countries and the Pacific Islands Forum, I am pleased to announce that the Government of India will undertake one Quick Impact Project or QIP of each country's choice worth USD 50,000 in each of the 14 Pacific Island Countries. We will be happy to receive proposals in this regard from the respective countries," Margherita said. "To conclude, I reaffirm India's strong commitment to work closely with our Pacific partner Countries and the Pacific Islands Forum, as the foremost regional mechanism, in line with the priorities outlined in the 2050 Strategy to help build a stronger, more resilient and prosperous Blue Pacific Continent," he added. MoS Pabitra Margherita is on a visit to Tonga on August 28-29. Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders' meeting is being held as a part of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum and related meetings, a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. The PIF is the apex intergovernmental organization in the Pacific Region consisting of 18 members, namely, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Since 2002, India has been a Dialogue Partner of the Forum. (ANI)
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