Forging innovative partnerships: Australia-India cooperation for climate development and security in the Pacific

As part of Ambika Vishwanath’s DFAT Maitri Fellowship, her latest policy brief for the Perth USAsia Centre delves into triangular cooperation in the Pacific and explores how India and Australia can drive innovative climate development, and security efforts across the Pacific Islands.

Key Messages:

1 As Australia and India move into the next five years of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, they have the opportunity to align closely on climate related security and innovative development efforts in the Pacific.

2 It is necessary to move from reacting in isolation to climate events, to instead considering how climate events compound and cascade. This is integral for both understanding future risk and building resilience.

3 Triangular cooperation between Australia, India, and partners in the Pacific offers new and innovative ways to target development gaps. By combining resources, knowledge, and skills, there is an opportunity to drive aid that is sustainable, effective, and locally owned.

4 Gender inclusive approaches to development can be transformational, effectively contributing towards short- and medium-term adaptation strategies. While Australia and India have different approaches to gender development, this is an important area of future cooperation.

Originally published under the INDO-PACIFIC ANALYSIS BRIEFS 2025, The Perth USAsia Centre.