India Sends Humanitarian Aid to Papua New Guinea

Tags: International Relations International News

India dispatched a flight with 19 tons of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief supplies to Papua New Guinea.

An Overview of the News

• Response to Disaster: The aid is in response to a devastating landslide in Enga province, Papua New Guinea.

Aid Details

• Disaster Relief Material: 13 tons of supplies, including temporary shelters, water tanks, hygiene kits, and ready-to-eat meals.

• Medical Supplies: 6 tons of emergency use medicine and medical equipment, including dengue and malaria diagnostic kits and baby food.

Geographical Background Of Papua New Guinea:

• New Guinea, the world's second-largest island, covers an area of 785,753 km2.

• Situated in Oceania, it lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, adjacent to Australia, separated by the Torres Strait.

• The island is surrounded by numerous smaller islands to the west and east.

India-Papua New Guinea Relations:

• Diplomatic ties between India and Papua New Guinea were established in 1975 upon PNG's independence from Australia.

• India opened its resident mission in Port Moresby in 1996, reciprocated by PNG with a resident mission in New Delhi in 2006.

• Both nations, being Commonwealth countries, share warm relations, aligning closely on various global issues.

• Collaboration extends to international forums like the Commonwealth, Non-Aligned Movement, and the United Nations Organization.

Humanitarian Aid and Assistance:

• India extends humanitarian aid and disaster relief to PNG periodically.

• In 2023, assistance included drugs for HIV/AIDS patients.

• A grant-in-aid totaling US $760,000 provided computers and peripherals to PNG in 2017-18.

• Capacity-building efforts involve training through programs like Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) and the Colombo Plan.

• Ongoing implementation of aid proposals in various fields submitted by PNG under the annual grant-in-aid.

• A Centre of Excellence in Information Technology was established at the University of PNG with Indian financial and technical assistance.

• In 2018, Government of India provided assistance of US$1 million for earthquake relief in areas affected by the PNG earthquake.