India and the Pacific: Turning Diplomatic Goodwill into Capability

The Pacific does not need another relationship defined primarily through geography or grand declarations. Instead, it must translate partnerships into capabilities.

India’s engagement with the Pacific begins where the conventional map ends, like with the people who inhabit its islands and depend upon its waters. For New Delhi, the Pacific may remain geographically distant, yet distance has become a rather poor measure of geopolitical relevance. In a region confronting climate vulnerability, natural disasters, energy pressures and the demands of sustainable development, the actual question is whether diplomacy can travel far enough to become useful in everyday life.

That question acquired greater weight in New York on September 23, when External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar chaired the second Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation, or FIPIC, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The gathering brought together representatives from across the Pacific and offered a revealing picture of where India wants this relationship to go.

The Pacific is beginning to occupy a different place in India’s diplomatic imagination. The emphasis is shifting towards cooperation that can be felt beyond conference rooms, official statements and summit photographs. The test will be whether that ambition can produce capabilities that endure after the diplomats have left.

The Pacific Is Listening

The second FIPIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting drew participation from a wide range of Pacific states, including Samoa, Fiji, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu and Nauru, alongside the Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum.

That breadth matters because the Pacific is not a single strategic canvas. Every island country carries its own development priorities, institutional capacities and vulnerabilities. A partnership that treats the region as one undifferentiated bloc risks missing precisely the local realities that make development cooperation meaningful.

The New York meeting reviewed progress since the FIPIC Summits, particularly under the 12-Point Action Plan announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023. The plan has already given the relationship a practical framework, with cooperation extending into healthcare, renewable energy, connectivity, technology and capacity building.

The significance lies in the direction of travel. India is attempting to create a relationship in which diplomatic goodwill has a route towards implementation.

Jaishankar described India’s approach as “demand-driven, development-oriented and people-centric”. The formulation matters because it places the priorities of Pacific partners at the centre of the engagement. It also creates an expectation that Indian assistance should be judged by what it enables on the ground.

If a child can study through better connectivity, a patient can access care through technology, or a community can withstand a climate shock more effectively, diplomacy has done something tangible. This is where the credibility of the India-Pacific partnership will eventually be decided.

Climate Change Is Already Knocking on the Door

For Pacific Island countries, climate change is hardly an abstract item on an international negotiating agenda. It reaches into economic security, food systems, infrastructure, disaster preparedness and the survival of vulnerable communities.

At the latest Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, El Niño was specifically identified as a serious challenge for Pacific Island Countries, with Jaishankar stating that India was ready to help mitigate its adverse effects. The reference gives tangible meaning to the otherwise broad diplomatic vocabulary surrounding climate resilience.

India’s climate engagement with the Pacific also has an earlier chapter worth remembering. During Fiji’s COP23 Presidency in 2017, India provided USD 1 million in climate-change assistance. Years later, climate action, renewable energy and disaster resilience remain central to FIPIC discussions.

The continuity matters because the Pacific conversation is building on a relationship that has been developing for years. India has encouraged FIPIC members to join the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Several projects under the latter are already underway in areas connected with climate change, renewable energy and sustainable development.

Resilience cannot be constructed after every disaster has already passed through a community. It has to be built into infrastructure, energy systems, technology and institutional capacity before the next shock arrives. For island nations exposed to environmental disruptions, such distinction can be the difference between recovery and prolonged vulnerability.

From Healthcare to Space, the Partnership Is Expanding

The breadth of the FIPIC agenda may be its most revealing feature. Renewable energy and healthcare sit alongside education, connectivity, technology and capacity building, while the latest discussions have also moved towards space cooperation and sustainable coastal and ocean research.

The expansion reflects the changing nature of development itself.

For Pacific communities whose economic and social lives are closely connected with the ocean, sustainable coastal and ocean research has immediate relevance. Better knowledge of marine environments can support long-term development while strengthening the ability to manage vulnerable coastal ecosystems.

Space cooperation opens another crucial frontier. Satellites and related technologies can support communications, disaster preparedness and the wider technological capabilities required for modern governance. The relationship has the potential to move beyond conventional development assistance towards a partnership built around knowledge, technology and resilience.

Development cooperation involves sharing capabilities rather than simply transferring resources. The stronger the local capacity created through such engagement, the greater the possibility that projects will continue producing value long after external assistance has ended.

The 2023 FIPIC Summit in Papua New Guinea produced a 12-point action plan. Its significance lies in its breadth, but breadth alone cannot become a substitute for delivery. Every action point ultimately needs a project, an institution, a trained professional or a community that can point to what changed.

A Pacific Partnership Within a Larger Diplomatic Picture

The FIPIC meeting formed part of a much wider diplomatic push by India during the 81st United Nations General Assembly. In New York, Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with European counterparts including Netherlands Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer. Their discussions covered geopolitical challenges, the Ukraine conflict, technology, energy, defence, connectivity, bilateral relations and India-EU trade and investment opportunities.

His meeting with Kajzer also included emerging trade and investment opportunities associated with the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, alongside discussions on energy, manufacturing, digital cooperation, connectivity, defence and multilateral issues.

India’s outreach extended towards the Caribbean as well through the India-CARICOM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Jaishankar highlighted India’s solidarity with Caribbean countries and pointed to completed and ongoing SME and Quick Impact Projects, limb fitment camps, haemodialysis units and compact medical BHISHM Cube units.

He also encouraged greater use of Indian training opportunities and offered customised training programmes. Solarisation, the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuels Alliance featured in that engagement, alongside efforts to deepen economic, digital and mobility ties.

Seen together, these engagements reveal a broader pattern in India’s development diplomacy. Different regions face different circumstances, yet many confront overlapping pressures involving resilience, technology, energy and access to development capabilities. The Pacific brings its own particular geography and vulnerabilities to that critical conversation.

Resilience Is What Remains When Rhetoric Runs Out

India’s engagement with the Pacific is taking shape around a network of institutions and practical initiatives. FIPIC provides the political platform. The 12-Point Action Plan offers a framework for implementation. The International Solar Alliance creates opportunities for renewable-energy cooperation, while the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure provides another route towards building resilience. Healthcare, education, technology and capacity building add further layers.

The Pacific does not need another relationship defined primarily through geography or grand declarations. Instead, it must translate partnerships into capabilities.

The challenge for India will be maintaining that responsiveness over time. A successful partnership cannot depend entirely on the rhythm of summits. It has to continue between them, when implementation becomes slower, more technical and considerably less visible. That is where the political meaning of FIPIC may become clearer. The forum can provide the architecture, but the substance will emerge from what countries build together within it.

India’s formulation of a demand-driven, development-oriented and people-centric approach therefore carries a practical obligation. It must convert commitments into projects, expertise into local capacity and diplomatic goodwill into resilience. Resilience is what remains when rhetoric runs out. For India and the Pacific, that may ultimately become the most meaningful measure of partnership.