(PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with leaders of the Pacific Island countries on the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session here on Wednesday and demonstrated India’s commitment to advancing their development priorities, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. This was the first time the prime minister met leaders of the Pacific Islands Developing States (PSIDS) in a plurilateral format, it added. A release issued by the MEA said the meeting was attended by the heads of delegations of Fiji, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Nauru, Republic of Palau, Independent State of Papua New Guinea, The Independent State of Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and Republic of Vanuatu.
The leaders deliberated on a wide range of issues, including sharing of development experiences for attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs), enhancing cooperation in renewable energy, joining the newly-launched Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, capacity building, implementation of projects under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund and a roadmap for future India-PSIDS cooperation, it added. “India’s relationship with Pacific Island nations has deepened with the evolution of Act East Policy, resulting in the setting up of the action-oriented Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC),” the release said.
