The article analyzes the genesis and development of the Gujarati diaspora in two countries of the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions – the Republic of South Africa and Fiji. The author identifies key factors that have determined the differing historical paths of these diaspora pockets, their role in the Indian economy and in the social and political developments of the host countries, as well as the place they currently occupy in New Delhi’s foreign policy. The conclusion is that the fragmentation of the unified «Indo-Oceanic world» in the first half of the 20th century led to the diasporas’ isolation from the metropolis, shaping their distinct identities. The existence of these identities prevents the diasporas’ exploitation as an instrument of «soft power» in the current state of international affairs.