India’s Collaboration with the Indian Ocean Islands

A Critical Element in its Global South Approach

Abstract

By transforming the G-20 into the G-21, India has left a lasting legacy by walking the talk of reforming institutions and structures that no longer reflect the reality of the emerging global order. The spectacular ability of India to evolve a consensus among the G-20 members, at a time when the world is going through its roughest and toughest phase, is a testament to India’s ‘Midas’ touch on an issue that matters. What matters to India is the Global South. Among the several islands, from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, that form the Global South, Comoros (the current chair of the African Union) and Mauritius were guest members at the G-20 in 2023. Their active engagement was witnessed through their participation in various working groups and ministerial meetings. Reiterating what Prime Minister Modi said in his opening statement at the Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC) III Summit in May 2023, “You are not small island states, but large ocean countries.”

This article attempts to answer three questions: first, why the focus is on island nations, particularly those in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), among the host of countries and islands that form the Global South; second, it will explore India’s engagement with the island nations; and third, it will prospect how India can further enhance its stakes in the IOR amidst increasing competition from China and the expanding footprints of various other powers.