India Contributes $1 million to Tonga Hurricane Recovery Efforts
New York, 19 February 2018 – India has allocated $500,000 in the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for rehabilitation efforts in the Kingdom of Tonga following the widespread massive destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Gita last week.
Additionally, India has decided to also provide $500,000 for immediate relief assistance.
In the spirit of South-South cooperation, which emphasizes partner government ownership, following the assessment of the damages caused and priorities needing support, the Government of Tonga will identify the rehabilitation projects to be supported through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.
The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is supported and led by the Government of India and managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. The Fund supports Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world, with a focus on least developed countries and small island developing states. Since its establishment on 8 June 2017, the $100 million Fund has identified 15 developmental projects for financial support worth $6 million.
The first project under this Fund focuses on ‘Climate Early Warning Systems in Pacific Island Countries including the Cook Islands, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Nauru, the Solomon Islands and the Kingdom of Tonga. The project aims to increase resilience from natural disasters of these seven Pacific island countries and contribute toward the Sustainable Development Goal of Climate Action.
Last year, following devastation caused by the hurricanes Irma and Maria, India provided a sum of US$ 2 million for rehabilitation projects in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.
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Media Contact: Mithre J. Sandrasagra, Strategic Communications Advisor, mithre.sandrasagra@undp.org, mobile +1 646 391 7834