India has hosted a two-day Pacific Islands Conference in Suva, the capital city of Fiji. The India-Pacific Islands Sustainable Development Conference held between 25 and 26 May 2017 was hosted by Ministry of External Affairs.
The conference that was inaugurated by the Acting Fijian Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed- Khaiyum saw the signing of eight MoUs on the day of inauguration.
These MoUs were signed on 25 May 2017 by five participating nations, namely Fiji, Cook Islands, Nauru, Samoa and Niue. On behalf of India, the inaugural session of the conference was addressed by Gen. (Dr) V.K. Singh (Retd), Minister of State for External Affairs.
List of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed during the Inaugural session of India-Pacific Islands Sustainable Development Conference:
| Serial No. | Country | MoU |
|---|
| 1. | Fiji | MOU for cooperation on broadcasting between Prasar Bharti, New Delhi, India and Fiji Broadcasting Corporation for Exchange of Audio Visual Programmes. |
| 2. | Fiji | MoU between Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of the Republic of India and Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of the Government of the Republic of Fiji on Co-operation in the field of Renewable Energy. |
| 3. | Fiji | MoU between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Fiji for establishing India - Fiji Centre of Excellence in IT. |
| 4. | Fiji | MoU between the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Fiji and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Republic of India on Cooperation in the field of Youth Development. |
| 5. | Cook Islands | MoU between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Cook Islands for Establishing India - Cook Islands Centre of Excellence in IT. |
| 6. | Nauru | MoU between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Republic of Nauru for establishing India - Nauru ICT Learning Centre of Excellence in IT. |
| 7. | Samoa | MoU between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Independent State of Samoa for Establishing India - Samoa Centre of Excellence in IT. |
| 8. | Niue | MoU between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Niue for Establishing India - Niue Centre of Excellence in IT. |
India will contribute USD 1 million to Fiji’s Trust Fund for their Presidency of COP-23 to be held in November 2017.
The conference was held under the framework of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Co-operation (FIPIC).
The conference was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs wanted to boost the bilateral relations with the 14 Pacific Island countries.
The event saw Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF). India-Pacific Islands Countries discuss on a wide range of issues including climate change.
FIPIC was formed in November 2014, to strengthen India’s relationship with the Pacific Island Countries.
The first FIPIC summit was held at the level of Heads of Government in November 2014 in Suva, Fiji, which was followed by the FIPIC-II summit held in August 2015, in Jaipur, India.
