India to contribute $4 million to Gaza reconstruction fund

NEW DELHI: India has committed $4 million for Gaza reconstruction in response to the recovery plan presented by Palestinian Authority at Cairo International Conference as the international community pledged a total of $5.4 billion for the cause.

Observing that the early realisation of the objectives of the Cairo Conference will be an important element in the consolidation of the current ceasefire understanding between Palestine and Israel, India welcomed the mediating role played by Egypt in the current ceasefire in Gaza.

Represented by Sandeep Kumar, Joint Secretary (West Asia and North Africa) in Ministry of External Affairs, India participated in the Conference on the Reconstruction of Gaza yesterday and pledged $4 million, in response to the National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, presented by the Palestinian Authority, an official release said here.

Maintaining that an early and sustainable resolution of the root cause of the conflict was an imperative, Kumar said India firmly believed that a comprehensive dialogue remained the best guarantee of a durable peace for effectively addressing the issues confronting the region and its people.

During the conference, which was co-hosted by Egypt and Norway and was attended by delegations from more than 75 countries and international organisations, the Palestinian Authority put together a Reconstruction Plan for Gaza estimated at $4 billion, and countries pledged a total of $5.4 billion ($1.4 billion above the PA's Plan).

The Indian pledge is part of the long sustained India- Palestine partnership as the country has been providing direct budgetary, economic and developmental assistance to the Palestinian people.

India has committed to assist Palestine in the fields of capacity development, education and information technology, apart from implementing a series of development projects under the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Fund in Palestine.

"One of the important future IBSA projects will be the reconstruction of the Atta Habib medical centre in Shujiyaa, Gaza at a cost of $1 million. Additionally, India has been contributing $1 million annually to the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) for supply of food and medicines in Gaza," the release said.