India proposes setting up space station in South Pacific

India has proposed setting up a space station in a South Pacific island nation, while offering cooperation in humanitarian and disaster relief fields with the South Pacific island nations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a number of initiatives, including setting up of a space station in any of the countries and developing capacities in disaster management, when he met with leaders of 14 South Pacific island nations at a summit meeting in the western city of Jaipur 250 km from here.

At the Second Summit of Forum for India-Pacific Island Conference (FIPIC), Modi said India would cooperate with South Pacific island nations to create capacity in dealing with natural disasters, including through human resource development and application of space technology for early warning system and incident response.

He also said Indian Navy could provide support to the islands in areas like healthcare through medical camps.

He praised Fiji's support for India's Mars Mission in November 2013 and suggested establishing a Space Technology Applications Center in any one of the Pacific Island countries.

Fiji was also the data collection hub for the Mars mission of India, when the country's International Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan.

The mission was also monitored from Fiji and other parts of the South Pacific Ocean. Endi