NEW DELHI, 17th March, 2023 (WAM) — India has launched an abundance of development projects in Palestine, Minister of State for External Affairs of India, V Muraleedharan, told Parliament yesterday. These include the construction of a super-speciality hospital at a cost of $29 million, a women empowerment project costing $5 million, supply of equipment worth $5 million for the National Printing Press of Palestine and the construction of schools for Palestinian children at a cost of $2.35 million. “India is a founder member of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) of the United Nations which was founded in 1975. India has remained unwavering in its support to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state,” Muraleedharan said in Rajya Sabha, the upper House of Parliament. Four other Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) in Palestine “have either been completed or are at an advanced stage of completion,” the Minister said. These are the renovation and rehabilitation of the Yasser Arafat Square in Ramallah, the integration of technology into education in eight schools, the setting up of a nursery in Beitunia municipality and the development of a children’s park in Aqraba municipality. India provides 150 slots for training Palestinians in diverse sectors under its Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) and gives 50 scholarships to Palestinian students to pursue university education in India every year. The Minister said India donates $5 million annually to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and has contributed a total of $25 million through this route since 2018. Esraa Esmail/ Rola AlGhoul
Source: Emirates News Agency