In Pacific outreach, India to help Marshall Islands with infra projects

In a Pacific outreach, India has announced that it will develop community infrastructure projects in the Marshall Islands. The initiative includes the construction of a community sports centre, airport terminal, and two community centres and aMoU was signed on Monday regarding this as part of India's annual grant-in-aid. New Delhi is also working on providing desalination and dialysis units to address healthcare needs in the Pacific nation.

At the signing ceremony of the MOU, EAM Dr S Jaishankar said, "They will provide better infrastructure for the people of the Marshall Islands. India recognises the priorities and needs of the Pacific island nations..".

He pointed to sectors like health care, quality and affordable medicines, wellness and lifestyle, centres of excellence, education and capacity building, development and SME sector, renewables, and clean water facility as "areas of cooperation" between India and the Pacific.

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The announcement of infrastructure support to the Marshall Islands is part of India's broader strategy to enhance collaboration with the countries of the Indo-Pacific.

Dr Jaishankar reiterated, "India is always ready to do more with our Indo-Pacific partners," pointing to commitment to the region. Later this month, EAM Jaishankar travels to Laos to attend the India ASEAN foreign ministers meet, and then Quad foreign ministers meet in Tokyo.

India's growing engagement with the Pacific has been institutionalised with the Forum for India-Pacific Islands cooperation meetings, which wouldsee the Indian Prime Minister and leaders of the 14 Pacific countries attending. Last year, PM Modi had travelled to Papua New Guinea for the 3rd edition of the summit, announcing a slew of projects for the region.

Since then, India has reached out to Papua New Guinea when it faced deadly landslides. Delhi announced immediate relief assistance worth US$1 million to the country and, interestingly, part of Indian relief reached affected areas on Australian aircraft. Meanwhile, the Indian and American government collaborated to train Fiji doctors at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore and the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) in Mohali, Punjab.

India's increasing support to the Pacific comes at a time when China is trying to expand its influence in the region. Beijing has been actively engaging with Pacific nations through loans, grants, and investments even as it tries to woo them for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It has also pursued military engagement, including security agreements with countries like the Solomon Islands.