Fiji–India relations are the foreign relations between Fiji and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Fiji has a high commission in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, whilst India has a high commission in Suva. There are strong cultural links between the countries as 38 percent of Fiji's population is of Indian descent. India has used its influence in international forums such as the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

on behalf of ethnic Indians in Fiji, lobbying for

sanction A sanction may be either a permission or a restriction, depending upon context, as the word is an auto-antonym. Examples of sanctions include: Government and law * Sanctions (law), penalties imposed by courts * Economic sanctions, typically a ba ...

s against Fiji in the wake of the 1987 coups and the 2000 coup, both of which removed the incumbent governments. In the first case the government was dominated by Indo-Fijians while in the second case it was led by Indo-Fijians.

History

On 15 August 2005, Prime Minister

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

said that the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

had loaned F$86 million for the upgrading of Fiji's sugar mills, which would be completed in time for the 2007-2008 crushing season. This was to enable Fiji to diversify its sugar industry into bio-fuels. Indian High Commissioner Ajay Singh said that his country had also offered technical expertise with the restructuring of the industry. He was speaking at the India National Day celebrations in Suva. Following the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of 5 December 2006, the Indian Government policy was to engage with Fiji's interim administration rather than isolate the country. At the second summit of the Pacific Islands countries, held in Jaipur in August 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to open a space research and satellite monitoring station in Fiji. The station will enable India the capability to track satellites independently. India previously relied on the United States and Australia to assist it with monitoring its satellites over the Pacific.

Qarase's state visit to India, 2005

Qarase and his Foreign Minister, Kaliopate Tavola, began a week-long state visit to India on 8 October, to open Fiji's new High Commission in

. The High Commission had hitherto operated out of a hotel. About 50 local businessmen accompanied the Prime Minister. On 10 October, Qarase and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, signed four agreements. The most important is a three-year cooperation agreement in

. The agreement, most of which covers development cooperation, can be extended by mutual consent. They also signed a health service partnership agreement, while Tavola and India's Tourism Minister

Renuka Chowdhury Renuka Chowdhury (born 13 August 1954) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian National Congress, she represented the political party in the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. She has also served as the Union minister of State (Indepe ...

signed a

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

agreement. Singh urged Fiji to embrace multiculturalism as a permanent part of its identity. Qarase said that Singh had told him he understood the difficulty of forging unity in a multiracial nation because India was in a similar situation. He said that Singh had denied

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former lead ...

's earlier hint that India would not help Fiji if it passed its controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, a claim made by Chaudhry on his return to Fiji in September. Speaking in Sydney, Australia, on 16 October, Qarase judged his just-concluded Indian visit a success. He said that one of the highlights for him was his visit to the Banariaman sugar mill in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

. He said that Fiji could learn a great deal from the Indian sugar industry.

Military cooperation

India has ISRO's satellite tracking and intelligence station in Fiji. In 2017, India and Fiji signed a defence pact for strengthening Fiji's naval capabilities, training and arms production, etc."India boosts Pacific presence with Fiji defense pac."
, 30 June 2017. see also India–Madagascar Military cooperation

References

External links

High Commission of India

Fijian High Commission in New Delhi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiji-India Relations Bilateral relations of India