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Pacific Island links: India-Pacific Forum, PNG drought, gender-based violence and more

Pacific Island links: India-Pacific Forum, PNG drought, gender-based violence and more
Published 26 Aug 2015 

  • The second India-Pacific Island Conference was held in Jaipur last Friday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to increase engagement with the Pacific, with a focus on renewable energy, human resource development, IT infrastructure and assistance for disaster management using space technology. He also signaled future goodwill visits by the Indian Navy.
  • With the recent debate over the mandate and capacity of regional institutions in the Pacific, Nic Maclellan analyses the contesting views and issues influencing the transformation of regional architecture in the Pacific.
  • In the Saturday Paper, Martin McKenzie Murray argues that the violence and sexual assault suffered by female refugees on Nauru constitutes a humanitarian crisis.
  • On Devpolicy, Bryant Allen explains the risks to food production from the El Nino-driven drought in PNG's highlands.
  • Violence against women is a major issue in Solomon Islands, where one in three women have reported that their first sexual experience was forced.
  • In a speech at the Lowy Institute last week, Peter Varghese, Secretary for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that 'more than any other single relationship the state of our relationship with PNG is seen as a barometer of Australian foreign policy success'.
  • Today is Repentance Day in PNG, and Parliamentary Speaker Theodore Zurenuoc has sparked controversy by announcing plans to burn all the 'demonic' cultural artifacts in parliament.


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