India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday levelled a veiled criticism at the developed nations for their poor response towards managing the Covid-19 pandemic as a collective crisis, noting that the pandemic had hit the global South countries hardest.
Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa is among the participants at the 3rd India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Papua New Guinea.
PM Modi said the impact of Covid-19 exacerbated the existing problems in the developing nations. “The global South has been worse hit by the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Climate change, natural disasters, hunger, poverty and health-related challenges existed prior to the pandemic and now we are facing further new challenges…the supply chains were disrupted (due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown)…,” PM Modi expressed disappointment that “those whom we trusted, turned out at the time of need, they did not stand with us” referring to the developed nations.
The summit between India and 14 Pacific island countries is to boost bilateral ties including Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The The Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) was launched in November 2014.
The Pacific Island Countries while are relatively small in land area and distant from India, many have large exclusive economic zones (EEZs), and offer promising possibilities for fruitful cooperation.
India’s focus has largely been on the Indian Ocean where it has sought to play a major role and protect its strategic and commercial interests. The FIPIC initiative marks a serious effort to expand India’s engagement in the Pacific region.
At this moment, total annual trade of about $300 million between the Indian and Pacific Island countries, whereas exports are around $200USD million and imports are around $100 million.
