During an Extraordinary Virtual Ministerial Pledging Conference for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), India has announced a contributing United States (US) $10 million towards UNRWA over the coming two years.
- From Indian side, the conference has been addressed by Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Vellamvelly Muraleedharan.
- The focus of the developmental assistance provided by India to Palestine is the capacity enhancement through training and building durable institutions.
Support from India towards UNRWA
-In 2018, India has increased its annual support concerning UNRWA from US$1.25 million to US$5 million.
-For 2020, India has already disbursed US$ 2 million and will soon be remitting the balance three million dollar.
-India provides 250 annual scholarships to Palestinian youth and officials, apart from regular customised training programmes, and our current project grant is around US$72 million.
About UNRWA:
Initiated in 1949, this UN Agency was created to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950.
Headquarters– Amman, Jordan;Gaza, Israel
Commissioner-General– Philippe Lazzarini
About Ministry of External Affairs (MEA):
Union Minister– Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Foreign Secretary– Harsh Vardhan Shringla
