India has donated $2.5 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, prompting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday to welcome the generous contribution at a “difficult time”.
India on Monday gave UNRWA $2.5 million as part of its annual contribution of $5 million for the year 2023-24 to support the agency’s core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief, and social services provided to Palestinian refugees, the Representative Office of India at Ramallah said.
The contribution was handed over by the Representative of India (ROI) to Palestine, Renu Yadav, to the Director of Partnerships, Department of External Relations of UNRWA, Karim Amer.
The Representative of India underlined India’s continued support for the agency’s activities in the region and the services it provides to Palestinian refugees during the handover ceremony at UNRWA’s field office in Jerusalem, an official press release said.
“Confirming that UNRWA received a very generous contribution from India yesterday (November 20), which is most welcome during these difficult times and in the face of huge needs across the region, particularly in Gaza,” a spokesperson for UNRWA, Tamara Alrifai, told PTI.
Since 2018, India has given USD 27.5 million to UNRWA. The UNRWA, functional since 1950, carries out direct relief and work programmes for registered Palestine refugees.
Earlier on November 19, India had sent a second batch of “humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine” via Egypt. “Second Indian Air Force C17 aircraft carrying 32 tonnes of aid departs for the El-Arish Airport in Egypt,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.
(With inputs from PTI)
