The first-of-its-kind project in the Pacific, the Sustainable Coastal and Oceania Research Institute (SCORI), funded by the Government of India and based at the University of South Pacific (USP), Laucala Campus in Suva, was officially launched by the Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi during the Third Summit of the Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III) in Port Moresby (PNG) on May 22 2023, in the presence of Honourable Prime Minister of Fiji His Excellency (H.E) Sitiveni Rabuka and top leaders from thirteen other Pacific Island Countries (PICs) attending the summit.  The launch was celebrated at USP the same evening.