Speeches / Statements
Statement by EAM at Post-Forum Dialogue of Pacific Island Forum
07/08/2009
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here amongst you today on the occasion of the Post-Forum Dialogue Partners’ Meeting. I would like to commend and congratulate the Government of Australia for the excellent arrangements made for the Forum meetings. I would also like to thank our hosts for their warm and gracious hospitality.
2. May I now introduce the members of my delegation, Mr. N. Ravi, Secretary(East), Ministry of External Affairs, Mrs. Sujatha Singh, our High Commissioner to Australia, Mr. Raghavendra Shastry, Adviser and Additional Secretary in my office, Mr. A.K. Goel, Joint Secretary looking after the South East Asia & Pacific region in the Ministry of External Affairs.
3. Over the past decade, we have strengthened existing ties and established new links with the Pacific Small Island Developing States. We have invigorated our links with their regional organizations, with our status as a full Dialogue Partner with the Pacific Islands Forum and Observer Status with the Caribbean Community.
4. We evaluate our experience as a Post-Forum Dialogue Partner in extremely positive terms. It is a valuable forum for networking and exchange of perspectives between policy makers and business leaders from the PIF and its dialogue partners. I believe India and PIF countries have a mutual interest in working towards potentially beneficial arrangements. We need to look at conventional, as well as innovative mechanisms, to promote our relations.
5. India sees its engagement with the Pacific region as an extension of its Look East Policy, which was originally conceptualized in the early 1990s to boost our engagement with our South East Asian neighborhood, the ASEAN. We are confident that the “Look North” policy of the Pacific countries and the “Look East” policy of India will dovetail to create new synergies as Pacific Island countries are rich in natural resources and there is vast potential for cooperation in diverse spheres.
6. India’s increased engagement with its extended neighborhood should not come as a surprise. The concept of neighborhood has also undergone an evolution. Today, it is not the immediate neighborhood alone but also the extended neighborhood. So, when in the context of India, we talk of our extended neighborhood, it includes all the countries in the Pacific region, East Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf and West Asia.
7. South East Asia and the Pacific have been significant components of India’s foreign policy priorities. Cooperation between India and these countries is a necessary prerequisite for the 21st century to become the century of the Asia Pacific. Today, we are witnessing a rapid expansion of our engagement with Australia, New Zealand and the smaller Pacific Island States.
8. India has had a modest presence through some training programmes and small projects in some countries of PIF. These contacts had earlier been constrained by our limited interaction with the region. Our Dialogue Partnership status has added a new dimension to our relationship. We are confident that this partnership will adequately address the issues for strengthening our association with the region. With the Pacific Island States, in all our interactions, the emphasis will be on development of human resources, on science and technology, and on greater economic engagement in terms of investment as well as in terms of trade. The emphasis will be on providing whatever technical assistance India can extend to these countries based on your needs.
9. Almost 30 small island States are now covered under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme which covers which covers a wide variety of projects, including deputation of Indian experts, training of nationals of partner island States in premier Indian institutions and short-term study visits to India for their senior officials and decision-makers. Several infrastructural projects like construction of hospitals, provision of telecommunication facilities and construction of road-networks are undertaken in Small Island Developing States under the ITEC programme. A significant percentage of Indian experts deputed abroad is working in small island States in multifarious fields including marine engineering, agriculture, geology, fisheries and medicine.
10. India has accumulated considerable expertise in the area of harnessing new and renewable energy sources, for more than three decades. We have developed substantial manufacturing capacity for the design and production of equipment for the supply of non-conventional energy. We have also developed low-cost desalination plants. We stand ready to share this knowledge and experience with our partners from the small island developing countries.
11. India’s “Regional Assistance Initiative” for Pacific Island Forum countries unveiled at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting held in 2006, based o the priorities identified by the leaders of Pacific Island Forum countries in the Pacific Plan, over the coming years would implement a wide-ranging package for Pacific Island countries including supply of equipment and materials for social and economic programmes and for sustainable development initiatives; workshop unsustainable development, Capacity building course on Small and Medium Enterprise promotion, continued training opportunity in diverse areas under India’s ITEC programme, training course for diplomats and scholarships in higher studies.
12. The Pacific region has been making steady progress towards internal integration. We applaud the determination of the Pacific countries to take control in shaping their destiny and work together to broaden and deepen regional cooperation and linkages. From our own experience as a developing country, we have found that the development model for a country or region should be entirely decided from within, to best suit its own requirements. To the extent that outside support may be able supplement the internal effort, India will be happy offer its assistance and goodwill.
13. Currently, India has trade links mainly with Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, but the bilateral interaction with the region has the potential to pick up. India is amongst Australia’s top ten trading partners, while Australia is amongst the top ten investors in India.
14. We are committed to extending assistance and training opportunities to all Pacific Island Countries. At the last Pacific Island Forum meeting, India offered grants of US $ 100,000/- each for the 14 eligible Pacific Island Countries for projects in sustainable development. Currently, we extend assistance in capacity building and undergraduate / postgraduate scholarships to all fourteen Pacific Island States. The Government of India sponsored an international workshop on ‘Key vulnerabilities in Small Island Developing States, scope for technology cooperation with India’ in Delhi in August 2005 under ITEC Programme in which 25 nominees from 22 small island developing countries participated. The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are experiencing major adverse effects of climate change and adaptation to adverse impacts of climate change and sea-level rise remains a major priority for them. The workshop provided an opportunity for the SIDS and India to identify scope for enhancing technology cooperation in priority areas like sustainable energy, water conservation and disaster management. Again in 2007 the Government of India sponsored a ‘Workshop on Sustainable Development’ for officials of Pacific Island Countries, in Suva, Fiji in which 28 nominees from the 14 Pacific Island countries participated. All participating countries showed keen interest in having this Workshop continued on an annual basis. I am happy to convey that we are conducting another Workshop in Suva very soon.
15. India has always stood for the cause of the developing countries at multinational forums such as the UN and the WTO and has been at the forefront of South-South cooperation. India also shares the bonds of the Commonwealth with seven Pacific Island Countries.
16. We would like to share our strengths for the development of the region and for mutual benefit. I am happy to unveil the following initiatives for eligible Pacific Island countries for implementation over the coming year:
[i] Grant-in-aid of US$125,000/- each for the 14 eligible Pacific Island Countries for the supply of equipment and materials for social and economic programmes and for sustainable development projects.
[ii] Organisation of a “Workshop on Capacity Building for Strengthening India-Pacific Island Countries Cooperation” for officials of Pacific Island Countries.
[iii] Organisation of a course for diplomats of the Pacific Island Countries in the Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi.
[iv] Offer of continued training opportunities to all Pacific Island Countries under India’s ITEC programme.
[v] Grant of one scholarship for undergraduate or post graduate studies to each Pacific Island country.
17. Besides, this year, India is offering additional assistance to PIF countries in the IT sector. Under this, Government of India will offer assistance for setting up HiWEL (‘Hole-in-the-Wall’ Education Ltd.) Learning Stations in all the PIF countries and IT Centre of Excellence in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG)
(a) ‘Hole-in-the-Wall’ Education Limited is an initiative launched by M/s NIIT, an Indian company, to provide computer education to the children in rural areas and urban slums. We could offer HiWEL Learning Stations to PIF countries with the help of M/s. NIIT. Depending upon the size of the population, each PIF country will have either 2 or 3 learning stations.
(b) IT Centre of Excellence could be set up in order to empower the youth of PIF countries in global skills and make them competitive for employment in the local and regional industries.
18. I would also like to mention that those countries which did not utilize the grant-in-aid of US$1,00,000/- offered in previous years may avail of the same along with offer made this year.
19. I would like to conclude by thanking our hosts and participating Ministers in the Post Forum Dialogue for your hospitality and the excellent arrangements made for this meeting. I look forward to a meaningful interaction with you during this meeting.
August 7, 2009
CAIRNS (Australia)