Fiji important partner, says Jaishankar as India steps up engagement in Pacific

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, February 16

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday described Fiji as an important partner of India and said he has conveyed to the Fijian leadership that New Delhi has very substantial interests in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Jaishankar and President of Fiji Wiliame Katonivere jointly inaugurated a “Solarisation of Pacific Heads of State Residences project” at Fiji State House. India plans to install photovoltaic (PV) systems on buildings in 10 more Pacific Island countries.

During Jaishankar’s visit, a diplomatic visa waiver agreement was signed and the minister also unveiled the bust of Sardar Patel. He also visited the Fiji Museum and inaugurated the Girmit gallery. Jaishankar witnessed the Parliament session, where Minister Charan Jeath Singh spoke in Hindi. Indians make around 38 per cent of the Fiji population.

“The challenge for us is how do we refresh this relationship and make it more up to date and how do we address the issues that may have arisen especially in the last three years,” said Jaishankar, apparently referring to China’s moves in the region.

Consisting of 15 countries, China stepped up the tempo of its contacts last year. Last May, its Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited eight of the island nations and hosted the second China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Fiji. This entailed a quick response from his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, who landed in Fiji barely a day after she was sworn in. Jaishankar said India too would co-host the third summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) in the coming months.

Jaishankar’s main purpose was to attend the 12th World Hindi Conference co-hosted by India and Fiji. Preparations began in September last year when Jaishankar had unveiled the logo of the conference. Hindi is one of the three languages spoken in the South-Pacific nation, the other two being Fijian and English. The last conference was held in Mauritius in 2018. Analysts expect India’s stepped-up engagement in the region through activities like the Hindi Conference to make New Delhi more useful in the Quad, and especially the US-Australia combine, as they try to curb Beijing’s influence. Recognising the strategic importance of Fiji, PM Narendra Modi had visited the island nation early in his first term in office.