Bharat has committed to provide US$ 1
million monetary assistance to Papua New Guinea after volcanic eruption hits the
island country, for its relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
“Bharat extends deep sympathy to the government
and the people of Papua New Guinea for the damage and destruction caused by the
disaster,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in an official statement.
A major volcanic eruption Mount Ulawun
in Papua New Guinea erupted on November 20 and forced the evacuation of over
26,000 people and created urgent humanitarian needs.
Expressing solidarity towards the people
of Papua New Guinea, Bharat extended the relief assistance.
“As a close friend and development
partner under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and as a
gesture of solidarity with the friendly people of Papua New Guinea, the India Government
extends immediate relief assistance to support relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction efforts in Papua New Guinea,” the statement said.
Ulawun, the South Pacific nation’s most
active volcano, spewed smoke up to 15 km (9.3 miles) in the air on November 20,
the country’s Geohazards Management Division said, in its first significant
blow-up in years, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Bharat has firmly stood by Papua New
Guinea during times of crisis and devastation caused by natural disasters, as
it did in the wake of the earthquake that jolted the region in 2018 and the
volcanic eruption in 2019.
Papua New Guinea sits on the Pacific “Ring
of Fire”, an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the
world’s earthquake and volcanic activities occur.
Ulawun has repeatedly erupted since the
1700s and the last significant eruption occurred in 2019 that forced over 5,000
people to evacuate, according to Al Jazeera.
Moreover, Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management is an important pillar of Bharat’s Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative
(IPOI) announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2019.
ANI
