India Promises Papua New Guinea A $1 Million Aid As Volcano Erupts In The Nation

Delhi, New: India pledges USD $1 million in emergency relief funding to support relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction operations in Papua New Guinea following a volcano eruption. “India extends deep sympathy to the Government and the people of Papua New Guinea for the damage and destruction caused by the disaster,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement.

Volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea

On November 20, a significant volcanic eruption on Mount Ulawun in Papua New Guinea prompted the evacuation of over 26,000 people and resulted in an immediate need for humanitarian aid.

India offered the relief aid in a show of support for the people of Papua New Guinea. “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 Government of India extends immediate relief assistance to support relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Papua New Guinea,” the statement said.

The most active volcano in the South Pacific nation, Ulawun, erupted on November 20 and sent smoke up to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) into the sky, according to the nation’s Geohazards Management Division. This was the volcano’s first major outburst in years, according to media reports.

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India: a consistent friend in critical times

India has consistently supported Papua New Guinea in times of crisis and destruction brought on by natural disasters, as demonstrated by its response to the 2018 earthquake that rocked the area and the 2019 volcano eruption.

Papua New Guinea is situated on the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific, an arc of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean that is the epicenter of most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions worldwide. Since the 1700s, Ulawun has erupted numerous times; the most recent major eruption, according to Al Jazeera, was in 2019 and resulted in the evacuation of nearly 5,000 people.

Furthermore, according to the statement, one of the main tenets of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s November 2019 announcement of India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI) is disaster risk reduction and management.