India participates in conference on humanitarian response for Gaza held in Jordan

India participated at the High-Level Conference on ‘Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza’ in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Secretary (Consular Passport and Visa Division and Overseas Indian Affairs) of the Ministry of External Affairs, Muktesh Pardeshi represented New Delhi at the conference.

He highlighted India’s ongoing humanitarian, capacity building and developmental efforts at the conference, which was co-hosted by Jordan’s King Abdullah. India’s development assistance to Palestine over the years has reached close to USD 120 million.

“Secy (CPV & OIA) @MukteshPardeshi represented India at the High-Level Conference in Amman on ‘Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza’. The conference was co-hosted by H.M. @KingAbdullahII of Jordan, President @AlsisiOfficial of Egypt & UNSG @antonioguterres. Secretary highlighted India’s ongoing humanitarian, capacity building and developmental efforts,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated on X.

“India’s development assistance to Palestine over the years has reached close to USD 120 mn. As part of its annual commitment, India would be disbursing an amount of USD 2.5 mn to @UNRWAfor relief works soon,” he added.

The conflict in Gaza escalated on October 7 after Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel killing over 1200 people and holding around 250 as hostages.

Following this, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive, carrying out military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip with the aim of “completely eliminating” Hamas. However, the operations have led to massive civilian casualties with over 37,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The United Nations, WHO as well as several rights organisations have termed the situation in Gaza as ‘humanitarian catastrophe’.

Separately, India also participated in the Quad Maritime Security Working Group meeting in Sydney on June 6-7. MEA Secretary (ER) Dammu Ravi represented India at the event.

The group discussed continued cooperation to address maritime challenges and identified opportunities to deepen engagement as well as support regional partners for security and prosperity of the region.

“India participated in the Quad Maritime Security Working Group meeting in Sydney on June 06-07, 2024. The Group discussed continued cooperation to address maritime challenges and identified opportunities to deepen engagement as well as support regional partners for security and prosperity of the region,” the MEA spokesperson stated on X.

Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The positive and practical agenda of Quad is focused on delivering outcomes for the Indo-Pacific, in response to the region’s priorities and most pressing challenges, including health security, climate change, infrastructure, critical and emerging technology, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, space, maritime security, countering disinformation, and counter-terrorism.