India to contribute $5 million for Palestinian refugees this year

India has pledged to contribute USD 5 million in 2019 to the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA), even as it voiced concern over the agency's difficult financial situation due to voluntary contributions from a limited donor base and called for ensuring sustained fiscal support for its work.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu said the Government of India has increased its annual financial contribution fourfold to the UNRWA core budget, from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2018.

He was speaking last week at a meeting of the General Assembly ad hoc committee for voluntary contributions to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near East that too as a mark of India's solidarity with the Palestine refugees.