Shaheer Ahmed
Diplomacy is key to survival in today’s world. The countries practicing diplomacy have a lot to offer on their plate. They sometimes bypass the controversial borders where people think twice to cross the road. India has diplomatically done well in the last few years. India has invested heavily in Palestine and is keen to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Kya ye investment hai ya kuch aur?
India has provided humanitarian assistance to most of the conflict-ridden countries. They have invested in the infrastructure in Afghanistan which is more than $3 million. It includes highways, dams, hospitals, technical assistance, education, health, water management, sports facilities, etc.
India-Palestine Relations
India-Palestine relations go back to the 1980s. India was the first non-Arab country to accept PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It has been keen on resolving the Israel and Palestine conflict. They are interested in a more established and distinguished role in the Middle East. The two premiers met in Glasgow at the COP26 summit, which was the first high-level meeting between both sides.
In 2020, India gave 2 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for the welfare of Palestinian refugees. This would be used in support of education and health in the time of pandemics. In the past five years, seventeen agreements have been signed under an India-Palestine development partnership in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women empowerment, and media. They have also provided assistance of $72 million for the reconstruction of the Gaza post-2014 conflict. It included schools, setting up a center of excellence for information and communication technologies at Al-Quds University, and developing a satellite center in Ramallah.
Palestine India Techno Park
They have also invested heavily in India Palestine Tech park worth $3 million which is located in Ramallah. The technopark aims at ‘a launching pad for Palestinian IT entrepreneurs connecting them to the local, regional and global markets.’ The assistance program aims to strengthen capacity-building efforts focused on different areas. They are also providing training to Palestinian professionals. Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), scholarships for Palestinian students in Indian Universities are also part of the plan.
They are funding projects worth $59 million, which includes hospitals, schools, training institutes, printing press, etc.
To survive in the world, we need to co-exist peacefully and accept others as well. The world is already at war and with conflicts going on, no region is safe. We need to join hands to make this world a more bearable place to live.
