India sends 19 tonnes of relief material to Papua New Guinea

New Delhi. India has sent 19 tonnes of disaster relief material to Papua New Guinea, which is battling a devastating landslide. The relief material, which arrived at Port Moresby airport, was handed over by Indian High Commissioner Inbasekar Sundaramurthy to Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko.

The Indian High Commission in Port Moresby shared this information on the social media platform 'X' on Friday. On this occasion, along with the Foreign Minister, Defense Minister Dr. Billy Joseph and other officials were also present, who expressed their gratitude to Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar for this immediate assistance.

This help has been sent by India as part of the immediate relief assistance of US $ 1 million. On May 24, a major landslide occurred in the Enga province of the island country of Papua New Guinea, after which hundreds of people were buried under the debris. According to several media reports, about 2 thousand people lost their lives in this landslide. However, soon after the disaster, India came forward to provide immediate assistance to its Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) partner Papua New Guinea. With the announcement of providing immediate relief assistance, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar had assured that India stands in solidarity with the troubled country in this difficult time.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on the social media platform 'X' on Thursday, Standing together in difficult times. In the wake of the devastating landslide in Enga province of Papua New Guinea, India had announced immediate assistance of US $ 1 million to its close FIPIC partner. As per the announcement, a flight carrying about 19 tonnes of HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) supplies left for Papua New Guinea today, the assistance includes 13 tonnes of disaster relief material, including temporary shelters, water tanks, hygiene kits, ready-to-eat food and 6 tonnes of emergency use medicines, medical equipment including dengue and malaria diagnostic kits, baby food etc.

India has stood firmly with Papua New Guinea in times of trouble due to natural disasters. India had helped the island country a lot after the earthquake in 2018 and the volcanic eruptions in 2019 and 2023.

(Report. Shashwat Tiwari)