Indian aid for Palestine diplomatic institute

Indian aid for Palestine diplomatic institute

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fly from Amman in Jordan on February 10 to arrive in Palestine where he is expected to lay the foundation stone of a new diplomatic training institute, a source familiar with the planning of the visit said.

Prime Minister Modi to lay foundation

Mr. Modi’s visit will be the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Palestine and comes weeks after India voted in favour of Palestine’s rights over Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly.

Budget

The Government of India has already sanctioned US$4.5 million for the Indo-Palestine Diplomatic Institute which will be a unique institute in the region and it is one of the several events that are likely to feature in the PM’s visit to Ramallah

De-hyphenating India’s policy

• Officials say the visit is aimed at de-hyphenating India’s policy towards Israel and Palestine that was reflected in Mr. Modi’s 2017 visit to Tel Aviv when he skipped Palestine.
• Continuing with the same strategy, Mr. Modi is expected to reach Amman and land in Ramallah in the West Bank territory of Palestine in a helicopter.

IT training agreement

A new agreement on IT-training was sealed during President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Delhi on May 16, 2017 when both sides signed five agreements.

Humanitarian assistance to UNRWA

• New Delhi also pledged $1.25 million humanitarian assistance to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) in 2016.
• India’s support to UNRWA is in contrast to U.S. policy to the organisation as President Donald Trump has announced slashing of American funds to UNRWA.

Arab tour

The visit to Ramallah will be part of a three-nation tour to the Arab world that Mr. Modi will undertake during February 9-12