Doubts have emerged over the future of COVID resolution at United National Security council as US last week "broke silence procedure" on it and it is unclear how France and Tunisia who are the "penholders" intend to go forward with the draft.

"It will take a bit more time. if the US had not broken silence probably another of the P5 would have. COVID Still under discussion", told a diplomatic source from New York to WION. 
 
“Breaking the silence” is standard diplomatic language and not just in UNSC to describe when a party or parties does not agree with the text or some parts of the text. If there is usually a deadline and when no-one breaks the silence before then, it means there is consensus.&nbsp;

UNSC member countries are hopeful that some solution will come out soon. Another source from New York told WION "Discussions on the COVID-19 resolution are ongoing".

Currently, a Franco-Tunisian resolution is on the table with both the countries being the penholder for the draft on COVID. 
 
The US-China tiff on the COVID resolution continues especially in the context of WHO and the emergence of COVID crisis which was first reported in China in December of 2019.&nbsp;

"The problem is with the language in the text mentioning WHO that the US don’t agree on", a 3rd source told WION.&nbsp;

The former President of the United Nations Security Council has said "differences over the role of the World Health Organization" has "stalled" any outcomes over COVID resolution at the core UN body. Speaking exclusively to WION last week, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations Ambassador José Singer Weisinger, "Security Council can’t remain silent" and "cannot remain inactive towards the response."&nbsp;

While the first case of COVID was first reported China's Wuhan in December, it was only during the Presidency of the Dominican Republic in the month of April that it was formally discussed.&nbsp;

&nbsp;President of UNSC decides the agenda of the body and it is president for a period of one month. All 15 countries rotationally become the president of UNSC each month, with Estonia being the President for the current month.

Doubts have emerged over the future of COVID resolution at United National Security council as US last week "broke silence procedure" on it and it is unclear how France and Tunisia who are the "penholders" intend to go forward with the draft.

Doubts have emerged over the future of COVID resolution at United National Security council as US last week "broke silence procedure" on it and it is unclear how France and Tunisia who are the "penholders" intend to go forward with the draft. "It will take a bit more time. if the US had not broken silence probably another of the P5 would have. COVID Still under discussion", told a diplomatic source from New York to WION. “Breaking the silence” is standard diplomatic language and not just in UNSC to describe when a party or parties does not agree with the text or some parts of the text. If there is usually a deadline and when no-one breaks the silence before then, it means there is consensus. UNSC member countries are hopeful that some solution will come out soon. Another source from New York told WION "Discussions on the COVID-19 resolution are ongoing". Currently, a Franco-Tunisian resolution is on the table with both the countries being the penholder for the draft on COVID. The US-China tiff on the COVID resolution continues especially in the context of WHO and the emergence of COVID crisis which was first reported in China in December of 2019. "The problem is with the language in the text mentioning WHO that the US don’t agree on", a 3rd source told WION. The former President of the United Nations Security Council has said "differences over the role of the World Health Organization" has "stalled" any outcomes over COVID resolution at the core UN body. Speaking exclusively to WION last week, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations Ambassador José Singer Weisinger, "Security Council can’t remain silent" and "cannot remain inactive towards the response." While the first case of COVID was first reported China's Wuhan in December, it was only during the Presidency of the Dominican Republic in the month of April that it was formally discussed. President of UNSC decides the agenda of the body and it is president for a period of one month. All 15 countries rotationally become the president of UNSC each month, with Estonia being the President for the current month.

United National Security Council covid resolution in limbo

India's consul general in Dubai Vipul has said that the ongoing repatriation is going "very well and smoothly" as many flights from the city land in India. Speaking exclusively&nbsp;to our diplomatic&nbsp;correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Dubai, Vipul lauded the UAE authorities saying that have been "very helpful and cooperative." 250,000 Indians in UAE have registered for repatriation, the maximum anywhere in the world with a large number of flights originating from Dubai making the task much more complex&nbsp;in the West Asian country which hosts maximum numbers of Indians anywhere in the world.

WION: How has the repatriation going on?

Vipul: Well, the repatriation has gone on very well. So far we have sent 4 flights from Dubai, one to Calicut, two to Chennai, one to Lucknow and all the flights have been very orderly. The Dubai authorities&nbsp;along with Air India have done exceedingly well, in terms of&nbsp;ensuring a very smooth flow of passengers. Of course, all the passengers are very relieved&nbsp;to go back home now, because&nbsp;many have been stranded here for some time and we got number of passengers&nbsp;who were pregnant&nbsp;ladies, number of workers who would have lost jobs or had completed&nbsp;the assignments here. A lot of elderly people and medical cases and these are the 4 categories we have concentrated the most on in the initial phase. Then there are students and visitors who were stranded. But overall&nbsp;it&nbsp;has gone very nicely and very smoothly.&nbsp;

WION: How has it been for our people and diplomats like you who have been on the ground facilitating the process. It is risky being out due to COVID.

Vipul: It is correct and there are jobs we have to do, and people at the airport have to do. In that, there is no choice and we are taking all the precautions. We taking all care that we are not going too near to the passengers. And at the same time, we have to be at the location so that it is an orderly flow. And sometimes especially here in Dubai, people get deboarded at the last minute&nbsp;because they have not done some formality or other. In some cases, people haven't turned up despite buying the ticket. And then you have to make sure seats don't&nbsp;go vacant, therefore&nbsp;we have had passengers in the waiting list and you have to arrange for that, so overall yes it there is some risk we are taking all precautions and hopefully, everything will go all well. The other thing with which we are facing difficulty or challenge is a huge number of Indian population is here in UAE, we 3.4 million and of course lot of people want to go to India right now and that has been a tough job. We have done that at random, and then also, we have taken people who have written to us or have approached us and who are really in a compelling circumstance were they have to go back to India.

WION: Any exact figure on the number of people who are expected to come back?&nbsp;

Vipul: It is a bit difficult to give an exact number. &nbsp;Six flights are slated to go from Dubai in next 4 days. And then for the 2nd phase as yet we don't have instructions from Delhi and information as to how many fights there would be. In terms of a number of people, it is large, there are also people who have gone into our database and filled up the details but not ready to go immediately. So it is a bit difficult to give the exact number. Of course, it is very large, on the portal, more than 250,000 people have registered so far but when we are calling people, they are not ready to go right now, so it is a bit difficult to give the exact number of people who will go in next few weeks.

WION: How have the UAE authorities helping out?&nbsp;

Vipul: They have been very very helpful. The UAE authorities are doing the test for all Indians and for all other stranded nationalities as well who are repatriating people. They have put in lot of staff that maintain order and make sure social distancing norms are maintained at the airport. Dubai police, Dubai health authorities and other agencies, they have been working together with us, ministry foreign affairs, everyone has been working together to make sure its a smooth operation and people do not face any difficulty. In any case, the large Indian population in UAE and number of COVID cases are also Indians and local authorities are taking care and doing the best to manage the situation. Authorities have been very helpful and cooperative.&nbsp;

India's consul general in Dubai Vipul has said that the ongoing repatriation is going "very well and smoothly" as many flights from the city land in India. Speaking exclusively to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Dubai, Vipul lauded the UAE authorities saying that have been "very helpful and cooperative.

India's consul general in Dubai Vipul has said that the ongoing repatriation is going "very well and smoothly" as many flights from the city land in India. Speaking exclusively to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Dubai, Vipul lauded the UAE authorities saying that have been "very helpful and cooperative." 250,000 Indians in UAE have registered for repatriation, the maximum anywhere in the world with a large number of flights originating from Dubai making the task much more complex in the West Asian country which hosts maximum numbers of Indians anywhere in the world. WION: How has the repatriation going on? Vipul: Well, the repatriation has gone on very well. So far we have sent 4 flights from Dubai, one to Calicut, two to Chennai, one to Lucknow and all the flights have been very orderly. The Dubai authorities along with Air India have done exceedingly well, in terms of ensuring a very smooth flow of passengers. Of course, all the passengers are very relieved to go back home now, because many have been stranded here for some time and we got number of passengers who were pregnant ladies, number of workers who would have lost jobs or had completed the assignments here. A lot of elderly people and medical cases and these are the 4 categories we have concentrated the most on in the initial phase. Then there are students and visitors who were stranded. But overall it has gone very nicely and very smoothly. WION: How has it been for our people and diplomats like you who have been on the ground facilitating the process. It is risky being out due to COVID. Vipul: It is correct and there are jobs we have to do, and people at the airport have to do. In that, there is no choice and we are taking all the precautions. We taking all care that we are not going too near to the passengers. And at the same time, we have to be at the location so that it is an orderly flow. And sometimes especially here in Dubai, people get deboarded at the last minute because they have not done some formality or other. In some cases, people haven't turned up despite buying the ticket. And then you have to make sure seats don't go vacant, therefore we have had passengers in the waiting list and you have to arrange for that, so overall yes it there is some risk we are taking all precautions and hopefully, everything will go all well. The other thing with which we are facing difficulty or challenge is a huge number of Indian population is here in UAE, we 3.4 million and of course lot of people want to go to India right now and that has been a tough job. We have done that at random, and then also, we have taken people who have written to us or have approached us and who are really in a compelling circumstance were they have to go back to India. WION: Any exact figure on the number of people who are expected to come back? Vipul: It is a bit difficult to give an exact number. Six flights are slated to go from Dubai in next 4 days. And then for the 2nd phase as yet we don't have instructions from Delhi and information as to how many fights there would be. In terms of a number of people, it is large, there are also people who have gone into our database and filled up the details but not ready to go immediately. So it is a bit difficult to give the exact number. Of course, it is very large, on the portal, more than 250,000 people have registered so far but when we are calling people, they are not ready to go right now, so it is a bit difficult to give the exact number of people who will go in next few weeks. WION: How have the UAE authorities helping out? Vipul: They have been very very helpful. The UAE authorities are doing the test for all Indians and for all other stranded nationalities as well who are repatriating people. They have put in lot of staff that maintain order and make sure social distancing norms are maintained at the airport. Dubai police, Dubai health authorities and other agencies, they have been working together with us, ministry foreign affairs, everyone has been working together to make sure its a smooth operation and people do not face any difficulty. In any case, the large Indian population in UAE and number of COVID cases are also Indians and local authorities are taking care and doing the best to manage the situation. Authorities have been very helpful and cooperative.

India's consul general in Dubai Vipul lauds UAE authorities as India repatriates stranded citizens

The former President of the United Nations Security Council has said "differences over the role of the World Health Organization" has "stalled" any outcomes over COVID resolution at the core UN body.

The former President of the United Nations Security Council has said "differences over the role of the World Health Organization" has "stalled" any outcomes over COVID resolution at the core UN body. Speaking exclusively to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal from New York, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations José Singer Weisinger said that "Security Council can’t remain silent" and "cannot remain inactive towards the response." While the first case of COVID was first reported China's Wuhan in December, it was only during the Presidency of the Dominican Republic in April that it was formally discussed. President of UNSC decides the agenda of the body and it is president for one month. All 15 countries rotationally become the president of UNSC each month, with Estonia being the President for the current month. WION: What has been the key outcome of your Presidency of UNSC for April Month? Jose Singer: We believe the most important outcome of the Dominican Presidency of the UN Security Council in April 2020, was transparency. From the very beginning of our Presidency, our goal was to make the Council’s discussions on Open VTCs, public. Halfway through the month, after reaching consensus from members, we managed to live feed, through the UN Web TV platform, the entirety of the Open VTCs, including briefers and UN Security Council Member statements. Additionally, as another example of a milestone, a historical moment took place on April 21st. For the first time in history, the Council held a public online discussion (Open Debate). In this case, the issue discussed was the protection of civilians from conflict-induced hunger. Furthermore, we were able to reach consensus on: 1) 5 Press Elements (MINUSMA, Covid-19, Yemen, Great Lakes and UNAMID) 2) 2 Press Statements (Colombia and Yemen) 3) 1 PRST (Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict: Protecting Civilians from Conflict Induced Hunger) WION: Finally, talks started on COVID, what has been the progress? How soon we can see consensus on COVID resolutions? Jose Singer: The Security Council has been holding discussions around the possible adoption of a resolution on COVID-19. Last May 5th, the Security Council held a closed consultation on this issue to discuss the way forward. At this moment progress has been achieved throughout different areas that a resolution of this kind should address from a peace and security angle. However, as you are aware there are differences regarding the role of the World Health Organization and these differences, in part, have stalled the process for a while. Tunisia and France as the leads on this resolution have been working tenaciously in order to arrive at an agreement. The reality is that the Security Council can’t remain silent it cannot remain inactive towards the response. The members of the Security Council are on the same line in this respect, which brings an environment of deep commitment to arrive at a consensus in the coming days, but as I said, we would have to continue engaging and hope for an expedited agreement. WION: How do u see India's role when it comes coordinated action on COVID, they have sent your country medicines too? Jose Singer: From our point of view, India is currently an important key player in the present global order, and we are confident it will continue to do so through these hard and unprecedented times. After the COVID-19 crisis hit our nation, the Dominican Government requested our Missions around the world for some assistance and cooperation, from friendly countries and India rose to the occasion. Showing its unique solidarity and friendship towards our people, it was one of the first respondents to our request, not only including us in the 13 countries able to purchase some of the medicines being used to treat this virus, but also donating 200,000 tablets to our country. WION: How has UNSC adopted tech, because it was under your presidency they started meeting regularly via video conference. Jose Singer: Initially, the platform was a bit unstable and we were all trying to figure things out, including new working methods that would allow the Council to continue its work remotely. In this regard, the Dominican Presidency expresses its deepest congratulations and appreciation to the team of hard-working technical personnel of the United Nations. Without their tireless efforts to make possible all the technological arrangements, we would have not been able to proceed with our ambitious plans of keeping the work of the Council as open, transparent and fluid as possible, during the uncertain times that the global COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly brought along.

Covid-19: UNSC can’t remain inactive towards the response, says José Singer Weisinger

In the first visit of US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad to Delhi after the US Taliban deal on February 29, India has raised the issue of terror emanating from Pakistan impacting peace in Afghanistan and targetting of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.&nbsp;

Zalmay Khalilzad during the one-day India visit called on external affairs minister(EAM) S Jaishankar and India's National Security Advisor(NSA) Ajit Doval.

During the meet, EAM and NSA reiterated "India's continued support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic and inclusive polity" and "protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs."&nbsp;

Earlier this year terrorists had attacked a Gurudwara in Kabul killing more than 25 Afghan Sikhs which was claimed by the Islamic State. The attack also killed one Indian.

Without mentioning Pakistan, the Indian readout of the meet said, "It was emphasized that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan."

The US special envoy was accompanied by Senior Director in the US National Security Council Lisa Curtis and the US ambassador to India Ken Juster.

India also expressed its deep "concern at the upsurge in violence" and extended support for "call for an immediate ceasefire" and need to "assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with coronavirus pandemic."

New Delhi has been extending humanitarian food and medical supplies to Afghanistan to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Of the 75,000 tonnes of wheat gifted by India, the second stock of 10,000 will reach Chabahar in three days.&nbsp;

The first consignment of 5,000 tonnes reached Afghanistan in April and took the same route from Kandla to Iran and then via land to Nimroz.

In the first visit of US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad to Delhi after the US Taliban deal on February 29, India has raised the issue of terror emanating from Pakistan impacting peace in Afghanistan and targetting of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.

In the first visit of US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad to Delhi after the US Taliban deal on February 29, India has raised the issue of terror emanating from Pakistan impacting peace in Afghanistan and targetting of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. Zalmay Khalilzad during the one-day India visit called on external affairs minister(EAM) S Jaishankar and India's National Security Advisor(NSA) Ajit Doval. During the meet, EAM and NSA reiterated "India's continued support for strengthening peace, security, unity, democratic and inclusive polity" and "protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs." Earlier this year terrorists had attacked a Gurudwara in Kabul killing more than 25 Afghan Sikhs which was claimed by the Islamic State. The attack also killed one Indian. Without mentioning Pakistan, the Indian readout of the meet said, "It was emphasized that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan." The US special envoy was accompanied by Senior Director in the US National Security Council Lisa Curtis and the US ambassador to India Ken Juster. India also expressed its deep "concern at the upsurge in violence" and extended support for "call for an immediate ceasefire" and need to "assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with coronavirus pandemic." New Delhi has been extending humanitarian food and medical supplies to Afghanistan to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Of the 75,000 tonnes of wheat gifted by India, the second stock of 10,000 will reach Chabahar in three days. The first consignment of 5,000 tonnes reached Afghanistan in April and took the same route from Kandla to Iran and then via land to Nimroz.

During Delhi visit, India reminds US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on terror from Pak impacting Afghanistan

India has fixed $40 or Rs 3,033 per head of for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indias-biggest-repatriation-operation-begins-air-india-flight-to-land-in-kochi-tonight-297236">repatriation</a> by sea for people who will be brought from Male to Kochi on Friday. &nbsp;

Indian Navy's Operation "Samudra Setu"&nbsp;to evacuate Indians from the Maldives will begin on Friday and ahead of that INS Jalashwa has entered Male port on Thursday.

INS Jalashwa plans&nbsp;to evacuate about 750 stranded Indians. INS Jalashwa is the Indian Navy’s Landing Platform Dock (LPD) with its capacity to generate 3MW of electrical power, 60,000 gallons (212 tons) of fresh water a day and extensive medical facilities, which is ideally suited to undertake Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions.

Indian envoy to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir speaking to WION exclusively on the operation on Wednesday said, "Around mid-day of May 8, the first group of about 700 Indians will set sail back home&nbsp;to Kochi, that will be the first lot. After that, we are planning few other evacuations though the Navy ship."

INS Jalashwa Indian Navy's largest Amphibious platform (Landing Platform Dock) can carry 1,000 troops. With the current social distancing norms in place, the ship can carry 500-700 people. The repatriation will be in two&nbsp;phases - two&nbsp;ships with the first group being taken to Kochi, then Tuticorin. Priority will be given to medical cases, women and those who have&nbsp;lost jobs. 
&nbsp;

India has fixed $40 or Rs 3,033 per head of for repatriation by sea for people who will be brought from Male to Kochi on Friday. Indian Navy's Operation "Samudra Setu" to evacuate Indians from the Maldives will begin on Friday and ahead of that INS Jalashwa has entered Male port on Thursday.

India has fixed $40 or Rs 3,033 per head of for repatriation by sea for people who will be brought from Male to Kochi on Friday. Indian Navy's Operation "Samudra Setu" to evacuate Indians from the Maldives will begin on Friday and ahead of that INS Jalashwa has entered Male port on Thursday. INS Jalashwa plans to evacuate about 750 stranded Indians. INS Jalashwa is the Indian Navy’s Landing Platform Dock (LPD) with its capacity to generate 3MW of electrical power, 60,000 gallons (212 tons) of fresh water a day and extensive medical facilities, which is ideally suited to undertake Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions. Indian envoy to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir speaking to WION exclusively on the operation on Wednesday said, "Around mid-day of May 8, the first group of about 700 Indians will set sail back home to Kochi, that will be the first lot. After that, we are planning few other evacuations though the Navy ship." INS Jalashwa Indian Navy's largest Amphibious platform (Landing Platform Dock) can carry 1,000 troops. With the current social distancing norms in place, the ship can carry 500-700 people. The repatriation will be in two phases - two ships with the first group being taken to Kochi, then Tuticorin. Priority will be given to medical cases, women and those who have lost jobs.

India fixes $40 per head for repatriation by sea from Male to Kochi

An India built a state-of-the-art energy-efficient hospital in Mauritius, which was opened by Indian PM Modi and PM of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth last year on October 3rd is being used to deal with the COVID crisis, Indian envoy to the country has told WION. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, India's High Commissioner to Mauritius Tanmaya Lal while talking about the COVID situation in the country lauded the "leadership of the country is taking commendable steps on various fronts to contain the pandemic" and thanked them for "testing and other procedures required" of several Indian workers after one Indian worker was confirmed COVID positive case. He also talked about the ongoing repatriation process for which the mission is currently getting ready and expects around 1000 Indians who may want to return. Remember Mauritius was one of the first countries to which India sent Hydroxychloroquine. 
 
WION: How are India and Mauritius cooperating on Covid? We sent them HCQ.&nbsp; 
 
Tanmaya Lal: Well, as you are aware, India and Mauritius share a very special relationship. As part of our close ties, there is a longstanding partnership between our countries on the issue of public healthcare. On the Covid pandemic also we are engaging very closely. Mauritius was one of the first partner countries where India was able to bring medicines. Government of Mauritius had made an early request for Hydroxychloroquine and some other medicines. The first consignment of around 13 tons of medicines from India arrived in Mauritius on 15 April. This included half a million tablets of Hydroxychloroquine. This was greatly appreciated here. Hon. Vice Prime Minister Mrs Dookun received the consignment at the airport. Warm messages were exchanged between our Prime Ministers on this. The gesture was well-liked by people, healthcare specialists and received wide media attention. We are working to bring the next consignment of essential medicines in the coming days. This will also include Ayurvedic medicines that have been requested by the Government of Mauritius. You may know that last October Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Prime Minister Modi had jointly e-inaugurated a new state-of-the-art Hospital in Mauritius as part of our development partnership. The Hospital is currently being extensively used in the context of Coronavirus situation. There are many other ongoing and earlier instances of our partnership in the healthcare sector including in Ayush and traditional medicines fields. In February this year, two senior experts from Mauritius participated in an International Ayush Conference in India. On Monday both India and Mauritius participated in the online meeting of the Contact Group of Non-Aligned Movement on Covid 19. I must point out that the Government of Mauritius has been extremely supportive in helping us take care of the Indian nationals here. Their senior leadership has reassured us of their attention to any facilitation required. They assisted with testing and other procedures required in cases of the large number of Indian workers, which became necessary after one Indian worker was confirmed as a Covid positive case. We are grateful for their help.&nbsp;

WION: How has the Indian mission reached out to stranded Indians in the country?&nbsp; 
 
Tanmaya Lal: There are around 10,000 Indian nationals in Mauritius. We estimate that around 1,000 of these may need to return to India. These mainly include hotel interns, students, tourists, workers and other professionals. The High Commission has been proactive in reaching out to the Indian nationals here. We are in regular touch with colleges where these students are studying; hotels where interns were working and their agents; and companies where Indian workers are deployed. My colleagues have reached out personally to hundreds of Indians in Mauritius and are also in touch with many of the parents in India and landlords where interns, students and tourists are staying to facilitate their welfare. We have facilitated the issue of various permits and special passes, transport, and medicines during the curfew. We are operating three helplines that are operational 24x7. We are very active in our messaging on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Website. I also reach out through regular video messages. In the initial days of the lockdown and curfew, when supermarkets had been closed down, the Mission worked hard to procure essential groceries and my colleagues went out to distribute these for a large number of those who were facing serious problems. My colleagues also visited colleges and institutions where a large number of Indian students are studying to ascertain the conditions including the food arrangements.&nbsp;

WION: How has the ground situation in Mauritius changed?&nbsp; 
 
Tanmaya Lal: Mauritius is a small remote island but its population density is among the highest in the world. Their economy, especially the tourism sector, and supplies are to a very large extent dependent on the external environment. Despite such concerns and limitations, the Government of Mauritius took strong measures at an early stage to stop international traffic and impose lockdown and then Curfew. The leadership of the country is taking commendable steps on various fronts to contain the pandemic, ensure essential supplies, and institute supportive measures for vulnerable sections and businesses. While the curfew remains extended until the end of this month, a carefully phased reopening is being planned. There are daily high-level briefings. Testing is going on. Mauritius is doing comparatively well in this regard according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Quarantine measures are strictly imposed. The graph of infected cases appears to be flattening. Mass Testing has now commenced.&nbsp;

WION: Have we shared any Indian containment model and how are the Indian diplomats doing?&nbsp; 
 
Tanmaya Lal: There is a lot of interest in the Mauritian leadership and public health experts in understanding the developments and best practices in India. I have personally shared many of the steps underway and containment plans in India with their leadership. At the same time, there is interest in the research being carried out in India especially on drugs and vaccine development and other affordable practical innovations on medical equipment. We are sharing these extensively on our social media platforms also. There is also serious interest in the use of Ayurveda for boosting immunity. I have shared Ayush guidelines with them. We are also regularly sharing these on social media. Mauritian experts are attending some of the technical webinars on managing Covid pandemic organized under our ITEC programme by Indian medical institutions, including by the All India Institute for Ayurveda. Our Culture Centre is conducting online Yoga classes, which also has a high resonance here. Let me thank you for asking about my colleagues. The pandemic and the curfew has also been a quick learning curve for all of us. While we are mostly working from home and engaging regularly through video conferencing, many of us also have to move out daily as part of our work. My colleagues have visited the Medical College before the Curfew and were present at the airport when the last commercial flight was departing to assist Indian students and tourists before the travel restrictions kicked in. They have also assisted a large number of Indians by going out to procure and distribute groceries when required despite the curfew and risks of infection. At the individual level, we continue to take precautions and our morale remains high. We are now engaged in preparing for arrangements for the Indians who need to return to India.

An India built a state-of-the-art energy-efficient hospital in Mauritius, which was opened by Indian PM Modi and PM of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth last year on October 3rd is being used to deal with the COVID crisis, Indian envoy to the country has told WION.

An India built a state-of-the-art energy-efficient hospital in Mauritius, which was opened by Indian PM Modi and PM of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth last year on October 3rd is being used to deal with the COVID crisis, Indian envoy to the country has told WION. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, India's High Commissioner to Mauritius Tanmaya Lal while talking about the COVID situation in the country lauded the "leadership of the country is taking commendable steps on various fronts to contain the pandemic" and thanked them for "testing and other procedures required" of several Indian workers after one Indian worker was confirmed COVID positive case. He also talked about the ongoing repatriation process for which the mission is currently getting ready and expects around 1000 Indians who may want to return. Remember Mauritius was one of the first countries to which India sent Hydroxychloroquine. WION: How are India and Mauritius cooperating on Covid? We sent them HCQ. Tanmaya Lal: Well, as you are aware, India and Mauritius share a very special relationship. As part of our close ties, there is a longstanding partnership between our countries on the issue of public healthcare. On the Covid pandemic also we are engaging very closely. Mauritius was one of the first partner countries where India was able to bring medicines. Government of Mauritius had made an early request for Hydroxychloroquine and some other medicines. The first consignment of around 13 tons of medicines from India arrived in Mauritius on 15 April. This included half a million tablets of Hydroxychloroquine. This was greatly appreciated here. Hon. Vice Prime Minister Mrs Dookun received the consignment at the airport. Warm messages were exchanged between our Prime Ministers on this. The gesture was well-liked by people, healthcare specialists and received wide media attention. We are working to bring the next consignment of essential medicines in the coming days. This will also include Ayurvedic medicines that have been requested by the Government of Mauritius. You may know that last October Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Prime Minister Modi had jointly e-inaugurated a new state-of-the-art Hospital in Mauritius as part of our development partnership. The Hospital is currently being extensively used in the context of Coronavirus situation. There are many other ongoing and earlier instances of our partnership in the healthcare sector including in Ayush and traditional medicines fields. In February this year, two senior experts from Mauritius participated in an International Ayush Conference in India. On Monday both India and Mauritius participated in the online meeting of the Contact Group of Non-Aligned Movement on Covid 19. I must point out that the Government of Mauritius has been extremely supportive in helping us take care of the Indian nationals here. Their senior leadership has reassured us of their attention to any facilitation required. They assisted with testing and other procedures required in cases of the large number of Indian workers, which became necessary after one Indian worker was confirmed as a Covid positive case. We are grateful for their help. WION: How has the Indian mission reached out to stranded Indians in the country? Tanmaya Lal: There are around 10,000 Indian nationals in Mauritius. We estimate that around 1,000 of these may need to return to India. These mainly include hotel interns, students, tourists, workers and other professionals. The High Commission has been proactive in reaching out to the Indian nationals here. We are in regular touch with colleges where these students are studying; hotels where interns were working and their agents; and companies where Indian workers are deployed. My colleagues have reached out personally to hundreds of Indians in Mauritius and are also in touch with many of the parents in India and landlords where interns, students and tourists are staying to facilitate their welfare. We have facilitated the issue of various permits and special passes, transport, and medicines during the curfew. We are operating three helplines that are operational 24x7. We are very active in our messaging on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Website. I also reach out through regular video messages. In the initial days of the lockdown and curfew, when supermarkets had been closed down, the Mission worked hard to procure essential groceries and my colleagues went out to distribute these for a large number of those who were facing serious problems. My colleagues also visited colleges and institutions where a large number of Indian students are studying to ascertain the conditions including the food arrangements. WION: How has the ground situation in Mauritius changed? Tanmaya Lal: Mauritius is a small remote island but its population density is among the highest in the world. Their economy, especially the tourism sector, and supplies are to a very large extent dependent on the external environment. Despite such concerns and limitations, the Government of Mauritius took strong measures at an early stage to stop international traffic and impose lockdown and then Curfew. The leadership of the country is taking commendable steps on various fronts to contain the pandemic, ensure essential supplies, and institute supportive measures for vulnerable sections and businesses. While the curfew remains extended until the end of this month, a carefully phased reopening is being planned. There are daily high-level briefings. Testing is going on. Mauritius is doing comparatively well in this regard according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Quarantine measures are strictly imposed. The graph of infected cases appears to be flattening. Mass Testing has now commenced. WION: Have we shared any Indian containment model and how are the Indian diplomats doing? Tanmaya Lal: There is a lot of interest in the Mauritian leadership and public health experts in understanding the developments and best practices in India. I have personally shared many of the steps underway and containment plans in India with their leadership. At the same time, there is interest in the research being carried out in India especially on drugs and vaccine development and other affordable practical innovations on medical equipment. We are sharing these extensively on our social media platforms also. There is also serious interest in the use of Ayurveda for boosting immunity. I have shared Ayush guidelines with them. We are also regularly sharing these on social media. Mauritian experts are attending some of the technical webinars on managing Covid pandemic organized under our ITEC programme by Indian medical institutions, including by the All India Institute for Ayurveda. Our Culture Centre is conducting online Yoga classes, which also has a high resonance here. Let me thank you for asking about my colleagues. The pandemic and the curfew has also been a quick learning curve for all of us. While we are mostly working from home and engaging regularly through video conferencing, many of us also have to move out daily as part of our work. My colleagues have visited the Medical College before the Curfew and were present at the airport when the last commercial flight was departing to assist Indian students and tourists before the travel restrictions kicked in. They have also assisted a large number of Indians by going out to procure and distribute groceries when required despite the curfew and risks of infection. At the individual level, we continue to take precautions and our morale remains high. We are now engaged in preparing for arrangements for the Indians who need to return to India.

India built hospital in Mauritius opened last year being used for covid operations

India's mega repatriation plan to bring back thousands of thousands of its stranded nationals from abroad has started with the first flight to land in Kerala in the night.&nbsp;

1st flight with 175 stranded Indians from abroad will land in Kochi from Abu Dhabi at around 2140 hrs. The Air India Express flight will leave UAE at 1615 local time. The second flight will also be to Kerala, having 175 stranded Indians. It will come from Dubai and land in Kozhikode at around 2230 hr. 
&nbsp; 
India will be bringing back around 14600 of its citizens in 64 flights in the first week of the repatriation process.

Flights will get back stranded Indians from 12 countries—6 from the Gulf, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, 3 from ASEAN--Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, 1 from the neighbourhood which is Bangladesh and US, UK.&nbsp;

Maximum flights will be to Kerala at 15, followed by Tamil Nadu &amp; NCR at 11, Maharashtra and Telangana at 7, Gujarat at 5, Karnataka and J&amp;K at 3 and Punjab and UP at 1.

Focus remains on the gulf where 3 lakh people have registered for repatriation. Of the 64, 25 flights will be coming from the gulf, and of the gulf, 10 flights will come from UAE, which hosts the largest number of Indians globally, many of them blue-collared workers.

The first flight from Saudi Arabia is scheduled to operate from Riyadh to Kozhikode on May 08, 2020, and the other 4 flights would operate on Riyadh-Delhi; Dammam-Kochi; Jeddah-Kochi and Jeddah-Delhi sectors. 
&nbsp; 
7 flights will come each from Bangladesh, UK, Malaysia, US, 5 from Singapore, Philipines, Saudi Arabia, 4 from Kuwait, 2 each from Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Indian Navy's Operation Samudra Setu to evacuate Indians from the Maldives will begin from tomorrow and ahead of that INS Jalashwa has entered Male port.

Indian envoy to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir speaking to WION exclusively on the operation said, "Around midday of 8th of May, the first group of about 700 Indians will set sail back home, back to Kochi, that will be the first lot. After that, we are planning a few other evacuations though Navy ship."

INS Jalashwa Indian Navy's largest Amphibious platform (Landing Platform Dock) can carry 1000 troops. With the current social distancing, norms can carry 500-700 people. The repatriation will be in 2 phases via 2 ships with the first group being taken to Kochi, then Tuticorin. Priority will be given to medical cases, women and those who lost jobs.

The French embassy in a statement said, "During this period of a public health crisis, the Indian and the French navies are fully engaged in the Samudra Setu and Resilience operations respectively to aid people facing the ordeal of the COVID-19 epidemic." 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Last year the 17th edition of Varuna, the Indo-French naval exercise saw both the Navies reaching a decisive phase in interoperability.

This is Independent India's largest repatriation mission to bring back its citizens stranded abroad due to COVID-19 pandemic. India will be getting back 1,92,000 people in the first phase of the mammoth exercise with the focus on the Gulf.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
On Monday India's envoy to UAE Pavan Kapoor speaking exclusively to WION said, "I am glad that we are starting this process of repatriation for those who urgently need to return to India. We look forward to working closely with the UAE authorities to make this process as smooth and efficient as we can."

The largest-ever evacuation carried out by India was the 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait during the Gulf War in which 170,000 Indian expatriates were from the west Asian country.

Around 11,000 stranded Indians have registered with Indian mission in Moscow, 1200 in New Zealand, 390 Indian nationals with High Commission of Nairobi, 265 at the Indian mission in Mexico, 2000 at India's mission in Canada and five Indians in Somalia have also registered so that they can get back home. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel and Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for the process had been prepared in this regard. 
&nbsp; 
"State Governments are being advised to make arrangements, including for testing, quarantine and onward movement of the returning Indians in their respective States.", MHA in a statement said.

The facilitation will only be on "compelling grounds" and will be done via planes and naval ships on payment basis and non-scheduled commercial flights would be arranged for air travel. During the process of getting back, all health protocols like social distancing norms will have to be followed.

The evacuees after reaching the destination would have to register on the Indian government's Aarogya Setu app which has been developed to alert about COVID-19 crisis and alerts regarding it.&nbsp;

After being medically screened, they will be quarantined for 14 days in a hospital or an institutional quarantine on payment-basis by the State governments which will be followed by COVID test at the end of the given period.

Earlier this year, India brought back approximately 2500 of its citizens and 48 foreign nationals from China, Japan, Iran and Italy.

2015 Operation Raahat saw India bringing back around 4600 of its citizens while Operation Sankat Mochan of 2016 saw India bringing back 600 of its nationals from South Sudan. 2011 Operation Safe Homecoming to bring back Indians from war-torn Libya saw 15000 Indian nationals being brought back.

The first decade of the century saw Operation Sukoon in which Indian Navy got back 1764 Indians and was the largest evacuation operations conducted by the Navy since World War II.

India's mega repatriation plan to bring back thousands of thousands of its stranded nationals from abroad has started with the first flight to land in Kerala in the night.

India's mega repatriation plan to bring back thousands of thousands of its stranded nationals from abroad has started with the first flight to land in Kerala in the night. 1st flight with 175 stranded Indians from abroad will land in Kochi from Abu Dhabi at around 2140 hrs. The Air India Express flight will leave UAE at 1615 local time. The second flight will also be to Kerala, having 175 stranded Indians. It will come from Dubai and land in Kozhikode at around 2230 hr. India will be bringing back around 14600 of its citizens in 64 flights in the first week of the repatriation process. Flights will get back stranded Indians from 12 countries—6 from the Gulf, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, 3 from ASEAN--Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, 1 from the neighbourhood which is Bangladesh and US, UK. Maximum flights will be to Kerala at 15, followed by Tamil Nadu & NCR at 11, Maharashtra and Telangana at 7, Gujarat at 5, Karnataka and J&K at 3 and Punjab and UP at 1. Focus remains on the gulf where 3 lakh people have registered for repatriation. Of the 64, 25 flights will be coming from the gulf, and of the gulf, 10 flights will come from UAE, which hosts the largest number of Indians globally, many of them blue-collared workers. The first flight from Saudi Arabia is scheduled to operate from Riyadh to Kozhikode on May 08, 2020, and the other 4 flights would operate on Riyadh-Delhi; Dammam-Kochi; Jeddah-Kochi and Jeddah-Delhi sectors. 7 flights will come each from Bangladesh, UK, Malaysia, US, 5 from Singapore, Philipines, Saudi Arabia, 4 from Kuwait, 2 each from Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Meanwhile, Indian Navy's Operation Samudra Setu to evacuate Indians from the Maldives will begin from tomorrow and ahead of that INS Jalashwa has entered Male port. Indian envoy to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir speaking to WION exclusively on the operation said, "Around midday of 8th of May, the first group of about 700 Indians will set sail back home, back to Kochi, that will be the first lot. After that, we are planning a few other evacuations though Navy ship." INS Jalashwa Indian Navy's largest Amphibious platform (Landing Platform Dock) can carry 1000 troops. With the current social distancing, norms can carry 500-700 people. The repatriation will be in 2 phases via 2 ships with the first group being taken to Kochi, then Tuticorin. Priority will be given to medical cases, women and those who lost jobs. The French embassy in a statement said, "During this period of a public health crisis, the Indian and the French navies are fully engaged in the Samudra Setu and Resilience operations respectively to aid people facing the ordeal of the COVID-19 epidemic." Last year the 17th edition of Varuna, the Indo-French naval exercise saw both the Navies reaching a decisive phase in interoperability. This is Independent India's largest repatriation mission to bring back its citizens stranded abroad due to COVID-19 pandemic. India will be getting back 1,92,000 people in the first phase of the mammoth exercise with the focus on the Gulf. On Monday India's envoy to UAE Pavan Kapoor speaking exclusively to WION said, "I am glad that we are starting this process of repatriation for those who urgently need to return to India. We look forward to working closely with the UAE authorities to make this process as smooth and efficient as we can." The largest-ever evacuation carried out by India was the 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait during the Gulf War in which 170,000 Indian expatriates were from the west Asian country. Around 11,000 stranded Indians have registered with Indian mission in Moscow, 1200 in New Zealand, 390 Indian nationals with High Commission of Nairobi, 265 at the Indian mission in Mexico, 2000 at India's mission in Canada and five Indians in Somalia have also registered so that they can get back home. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel and Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for the process had been prepared in this regard. "State Governments are being advised to make arrangements, including for testing, quarantine and onward movement of the returning Indians in their respective States.", MHA in a statement said. The facilitation will only be on "compelling grounds" and will be done via planes and naval ships on payment basis and non-scheduled commercial flights would be arranged for air travel. During the process of getting back, all health protocols like social distancing norms will have to be followed. The evacuees after reaching the destination would have to register on the Indian government's Aarogya Setu app which has been developed to alert about COVID-19 crisis and alerts regarding it. After being medically screened, they will be quarantined for 14 days in a hospital or an institutional quarantine on payment-basis by the State governments which will be followed by COVID test at the end of the given period. Earlier this year, India brought back approximately 2500 of its citizens and 48 foreign nationals from China, Japan, Iran and Italy. 2015 Operation Raahat saw India bringing back around 4600 of its citizens while Operation Sankat Mochan of 2016 saw India bringing back 600 of its nationals from South Sudan. 2011 Operation Safe Homecoming to bring back Indians from war-torn Libya saw 15000 Indian nationals being brought back. The first decade of the century saw Operation Sukoon in which Indian Navy got back 1764 Indians and was the largest evacuation operations conducted by the Navy since World War II.

India's mega repatriation plan to bring back stranded citizens begins; first flight to reach Kerala in night

India ensured that essential supplies to Bhutan continued during the ongoing pan-India lockdown with around 500 vehicles carrying essential goods entering the country on a daily basis, India's Envoy to Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj has said.

Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Thimphu, Envoy Ruchira Kamboj said New Delhi has sent three medical consignments to the country which included Hydroxychloroquine and made sure around 1,700 stranded Bhutanese citizens in eight Indian cities can go back via special Druk Air flights.

She also lauded the "proactive" measures taken by the Bhutanese government to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and called the country's containment model for COVID-19 as a "model for many others".

WION: How has the Mission reached out to Indians in the country?

Ruchira Kamboj: Just to give you an example. Bhutan registered its first COVID-19 case on March 5, an American tourist who had flown into Bhutan from Guwahati on a Druk Air flight along with his partner (American) and seven Indian nationals who were visiting Bhutan for tourism.&nbsp;

All the primary contacts of the US tourist including the seven Indians were immediately placed in quarantine by the government of Bhutan.&nbsp;

Meantime, the Mission reached out to the Indians and maintained close contact with them right through their quarantine.&nbsp;

Upon discharge, the Embassy facilitated their safe return through the land border through close coordination with Bhutanese officials.&nbsp;

This "action" ensured that all 7 Indians were able to get back home before the imposition of the lockdown in India. This is just one example. There have been some other cases of this nature, where the Embassy has reached out/offered a helping hand to Indian nationals in Bhutan, in these COVID-19 times.&nbsp;

As for the Indian diaspora and as you probably know, Bhutan does not have Indian diaspora as such.&nbsp;

Indian nationals in Bhutan comprise, inter-alia, employees of hydroelectric power projects, DANTAK (Border Roads Organization), Druk PNB Bank, private Bhutanese companies, lecturers on deputation to the Royal University of Bhutan under Government of India’s Colombo Plan Scheme and skilled labour engaged in power projects, the construction industry, wood-based industries etc.&nbsp;

Needless to add, the embassy has been in regular touch with our nationals to brief them on the COVID-19 situation in India and assist them on any and all fronts. With regard to Indian labourers resident in Bhutan, we are in touch with Bhutanese interlocutors and industry/factory owners who are taking care of their residential and livelihood-related needs.&nbsp;

There are no work-permit related issues. The Mission stands ready to assist any Indian who may wish to return home after the lockdown in India is relaxed sufficiently. Meantime, our emergency telephone lines remain open 24/7, which has been reflected across all our social media platforms as well.

WION: How are India and Bhutan cooperating with each other on the COVID-19 crisis?

Ruchira Kamboj: India-Bhutan cooperation continues apace in COVID-19 times encompassing myriad areas, including, provision of essentials (food, fuel and medicines) as well as our support to the re-prioritization of projects envisaged by the Royal Government of Bhutan under the 12th Five Year Plan to bolster Bhutan’s Economic stimulus plan of Nu 30 billion.&nbsp;

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised that the fight against COVID-19 is not just one country’s, but all of humanity’s. Our ancient Indian heritage sets out that the world is one family, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. He has repeatedly underscored the need to put human beings at the centre of our vision of global prosperity and cooperation, and to freely and openly share the benefits of medical research and development.&nbsp;

In this spirit, we have been honoured to hand over three consignments of medical supplies to Bhutan. The third shipment, that contained essential medicines including Hydroxychloroquine, was handed over to Bhutan on April 27.&nbsp;

I will also add that the government of India has made all efforts to ensure the uninterrupted movement of essential as well as non-essential commodities to Bhutan. Around 500 vehicles carrying essential goods and supplies enter Bhutan on a daily basis, a figure that is comparable to the number of vehicles prior to the lockdown in India.&nbsp;

India's "gesture" has been lauded by His Majesty the King of Bhutan as well as the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dr. Lotay Tshering despite lockdown restrictions. India has also facilitated the maximum number of special Druk Air flights to ensure the return of Bhutanese students and nationals, ordinarily resident in India.&nbsp;

1,716 Bhutanese students from Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mohali, Mumbai, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Delhi have been able to return to home territory, as an outcome of these efforts.&nbsp;

India’s assistance to Bhutan is, however, not just limited to supply of essentials and medicines or facilitating the return of Bhutanese nationals from India. We have assured Bhutan that India will stand in solidarity as it re-calibrates its development pathways in the wake of COVID-19. Both the Prime Minister and the foreign minister of Bhutan have acknowledged this support publicly through tweets.&nbsp;

It is indeed most gracious of Bhutan to have acknowledged this friendship between two special friends.&nbsp;

Significantly, India’s efforts have also been lauded by the Bhutanese public, in particular our support in ensuring essential supplies to Bhutan during the lockdown, and the handing over of medical supplies, as would any dear friend to another, in times of need.

WION: How has been the cooperation under the SAARC umbrella?&nbsp;

Ruchira Kamboj: There was a SAARC leaders video-conference and following that significant initiative of India's Prime Minister Modi, India has offered a number of capacity building programmes for Bhutanese in the health sector and other areas. Bhutanese health professional participated in the SAARC meeting of health professionals.&nbsp;

Thereafter, Bhutanese officials participated in two live web conferences on COVID-19 programme under the eITEC programme of MEA. The first web meet was by AIIMS Raipur, another one by post-Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. Also going forward, Bhutan has participated and also continues to participate in all the various SAARC led initiative these by bringing our two countries even closer by through the regional front.&nbsp;

WION: Are we sharing any containment models or capacity building programmes for Bhutan?

Ruchira Kamboj: Yes, very much so. Bhutan has been closely following developments in India and various initiatives taken by us to contain the spread of COVID-19 and they have expressed the deepest admiration and strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi and we have from time to time communicated all the details.&nbsp;

I must tell you something very interesting, that Bhutan is virtually COVID-19 free and that is because they have led from the front and have followed a proactive policy that has enabled them to contain the spread of the virus within the country.&nbsp;

During the course of his recent telephone conversation with Bhutan PM Dr Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister Modi had expressed his admiration for the personal touch and wisdom of His Majesty The King of Bhutan and the Prime Minister of Bhutan, both of whom have led from the front to limit the spread of infection within Bhutan.&nbsp;

Bhutan has been hugely successful till date in containing COVID-19 through its emergency response, by a simultaneous closure of borders, a 21-day mandatory quarantine in designated facilities for all persons returning to Bhutan, a combination of proactive testing and tracing along with compulsory testing of all quarantined persons before discharge.&nbsp;

In fact, Bhutan’s containment model for COVID-19 could well be a model/exemplar for many others.&nbsp;

WION: How has the situation been on the ground in Bhutan? How are Indian diplomats facing the situation?

Ruchira Kamboj: Bhutan has had only seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 with no deaths. Out of the seven COVID-19 cases, five persons have recovered from the disease. So far, there has been no local or community transmission in the country.

While there has been no lockdown in Bhutan, the country is in a partial lockdown mode with all borders closed, all educational institutions indefinitely closed for now, ‘work from home’ in many government &amp; private offices, emphasis on physical distancing in public places and public transport and restrictions on public gatherings.

The Health Ministry of Bhutan has developed two apps - ‘Druk Trace’ and ‘Stay Home’ to facilitate contact tracing in public places and public transport and to monitor/track people placed in quarantine.&nbsp;

Municipal officials and ‘Dessups’ (volunteers) are ensuring strict implementation of the restrictions and COVID-19 precautions imposed by the government across the country.

The ground situation in Bhutan is better than many other parts of the world. As far as embassy personnel are concerned, we are fortunate to be resident in the self-contained India House Estate in Thimphu.

We have self-imposed restrictions on the movements of diplomats and officials out of the mission. Our focus has been on minimal contact with outsiders, with COVID-19 specific precautions and social distancing taking precedence in all our work.&nbsp;

Despite these restrictions, we are fully functional in the spirit that “Digital is the new normal and that the Internet in the new meeting room!”. Video conferences and webinars are the order of the day and where necessary, we have actual meetings as well, given that Bhutan is virtually coronavirus free.&nbsp;

The effort is also to keep our people-to-people contacts robust in these testing times. In this vein and taking a cue from Prime Minister Modi’s 3D animated videos, online yoga and music classes have been launched by the embassy from April 1 onwards, which have proved to be hugely popular with Bhutanese nationals.

Likewise, Prime Minister Modi’s article on “Life in the era of COVID-19” has resonated well with the people of Bhutan, particularly with the youth and student community.&nbsp;

Both the Royal University of Bhutan and Royal Thimphu College has posted PM’s article on their social media handles. Indeed, these times of COVID-19 have thrown up new challenges for us to pursue our priorities and focus on innovative ways to achieve our objectives to further the special India-Bhutan relationship.

India ensured that essential supplies to Bhutan continued during the ongoing pan-India lockdown with around 500 vehicles carrying essential goods entering the country on a daily basis, India's Envoy to Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj has said.

India ensured that essential supplies to Bhutan continued during the ongoing pan-India lockdown with around 500 vehicles carrying essential goods entering the country on a daily basis, India's Envoy to Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj has said. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Thimphu, Envoy Ruchira Kamboj said New Delhi has sent three medical consignments to the country which included Hydroxychloroquine and made sure around 1,700 stranded Bhutanese citizens in eight Indian cities can go back via special Druk Air flights. She also lauded the "proactive" measures taken by the Bhutanese government to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and called the country's containment model for COVID-19 as a "model for many others". WION: How has the Mission reached out to Indians in the country? Ruchira Kamboj: Just to give you an example. Bhutan registered its first COVID-19 case on March 5, an American tourist who had flown into Bhutan from Guwahati on a Druk Air flight along with his partner (American) and seven Indian nationals who were visiting Bhutan for tourism. All the primary contacts of the US tourist including the seven Indians were immediately placed in quarantine by the government of Bhutan. Meantime, the Mission reached out to the Indians and maintained close contact with them right through their quarantine. Upon discharge, the Embassy facilitated their safe return through the land border through close coordination with Bhutanese officials. This "action" ensured that all 7 Indians were able to get back home before the imposition of the lockdown in India. This is just one example. There have been some other cases of this nature, where the Embassy has reached out/offered a helping hand to Indian nationals in Bhutan, in these COVID-19 times. As for the Indian diaspora and as you probably know, Bhutan does not have Indian diaspora as such. Indian nationals in Bhutan comprise, inter-alia, employees of hydroelectric power projects, DANTAK (Border Roads Organization), Druk PNB Bank, private Bhutanese companies, lecturers on deputation to the Royal University of Bhutan under Government of India’s Colombo Plan Scheme and skilled labour engaged in power projects, the construction industry, wood-based industries etc. Needless to add, the embassy has been in regular touch with our nationals to brief them on the COVID-19 situation in India and assist them on any and all fronts. With regard to Indian labourers resident in Bhutan, we are in touch with Bhutanese interlocutors and industry/factory owners who are taking care of their residential and livelihood-related needs. There are no work-permit related issues. The Mission stands ready to assist any Indian who may wish to return home after the lockdown in India is relaxed sufficiently. Meantime, our emergency telephone lines remain open 24/7, which has been reflected across all our social media platforms as well. WION: How are India and Bhutan cooperating with each other on the COVID-19 crisis? Ruchira Kamboj: India-Bhutan cooperation continues apace in COVID-19 times encompassing myriad areas, including, provision of essentials (food, fuel and medicines) as well as our support to the re-prioritization of projects envisaged by the Royal Government of Bhutan under the 12th Five Year Plan to bolster Bhutan’s Economic stimulus plan of Nu 30 billion. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised that the fight against COVID-19 is not just one country’s, but all of humanity’s. Our ancient Indian heritage sets out that the world is one family, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. He has repeatedly underscored the need to put human beings at the centre of our vision of global prosperity and cooperation, and to freely and openly share the benefits of medical research and development. In this spirit, we have been honoured to hand over three consignments of medical supplies to Bhutan. The third shipment, that contained essential medicines including Hydroxychloroquine, was handed over to Bhutan on April 27. I will also add that the government of India has made all efforts to ensure the uninterrupted movement of essential as well as non-essential commodities to Bhutan. Around 500 vehicles carrying essential goods and supplies enter Bhutan on a daily basis, a figure that is comparable to the number of vehicles prior to the lockdown in India. India's "gesture" has been lauded by His Majesty the King of Bhutan as well as the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dr. Lotay Tshering despite lockdown restrictions. India has also facilitated the maximum number of special Druk Air flights to ensure the return of Bhutanese students and nationals, ordinarily resident in India. 1,716 Bhutanese students from Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mohali, Mumbai, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Delhi have been able to return to home territory, as an outcome of these efforts. India’s assistance to Bhutan is, however, not just limited to supply of essentials and medicines or facilitating the return of Bhutanese nationals from India. We have assured Bhutan that India will stand in solidarity as it re-calibrates its development pathways in the wake of COVID-19. Both the Prime Minister and the foreign minister of Bhutan have acknowledged this support publicly through tweets. It is indeed most gracious of Bhutan to have acknowledged this friendship between two special friends. Significantly, India’s efforts have also been lauded by the Bhutanese public, in particular our support in ensuring essential supplies to Bhutan during the lockdown, and the handing over of medical supplies, as would any dear friend to another, in times of need. WION: How has been the cooperation under the SAARC umbrella? Ruchira Kamboj: There was a SAARC leaders video-conference and following that significant initiative of India's Prime Minister Modi, India has offered a number of capacity building programmes for Bhutanese in the health sector and other areas. Bhutanese health professional participated in the SAARC meeting of health professionals. Thereafter, Bhutanese officials participated in two live web conferences on COVID-19 programme under the eITEC programme of MEA. The first web meet was by AIIMS Raipur, another one by post-Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. Also going forward, Bhutan has participated and also continues to participate in all the various SAARC led initiative these by bringing our two countries even closer by through the regional front. WION: Are we sharing any containment models or capacity building programmes for Bhutan? Ruchira Kamboj: Yes, very much so. Bhutan has been closely following developments in India and various initiatives taken by us to contain the spread of COVID-19 and they have expressed the deepest admiration and strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi and we have from time to time communicated all the details. I must tell you something very interesting, that Bhutan is virtually COVID-19 free and that is because they have led from the front and have followed a proactive policy that has enabled them to contain the spread of the virus within the country. During the course of his recent telephone conversation with Bhutan PM Dr Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister Modi had expressed his admiration for the personal touch and wisdom of His Majesty The King of Bhutan and the Prime Minister of Bhutan, both of whom have led from the front to limit the spread of infection within Bhutan. Bhutan has been hugely successful till date in containing COVID-19 through its emergency response, by a simultaneous closure of borders, a 21-day mandatory quarantine in designated facilities for all persons returning to Bhutan, a combination of proactive testing and tracing along with compulsory testing of all quarantined persons before discharge. In fact, Bhutan’s containment model for COVID-19 could well be a model/exemplar for many others. WION: How has the situation been on the ground in Bhutan? How are Indian diplomats facing the situation? Ruchira Kamboj: Bhutan has had only seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 with no deaths. Out of the seven COVID-19 cases, five persons have recovered from the disease. So far, there has been no local or community transmission in the country. While there has been no lockdown in Bhutan, the country is in a partial lockdown mode with all borders closed, all educational institutions indefinitely closed for now, ‘work from home’ in many government & private offices, emphasis on physical distancing in public places and public transport and restrictions on public gatherings. The Health Ministry of Bhutan has developed two apps - ‘Druk Trace’ and ‘Stay Home’ to facilitate contact tracing in public places and public transport and to monitor/track people placed in quarantine. Municipal officials and ‘Dessups’ (volunteers) are ensuring strict implementation of the restrictions and COVID-19 precautions imposed by the government across the country. The ground situation in Bhutan is better than many other parts of the world. As far as embassy personnel are concerned, we are fortunate to be resident in the self-contained India House Estate in Thimphu. We have self-imposed restrictions on the movements of diplomats and officials out of the mission. Our focus has been on minimal contact with outsiders, with COVID-19 specific precautions and social distancing taking precedence in all our work. Despite these restrictions, we are fully functional in the spirit that “Digital is the new normal and that the Internet in the new meeting room!”. Video conferences and webinars are the order of the day and where necessary, we have actual meetings as well, given that Bhutan is virtually coronavirus free. The effort is also to keep our people-to-people contacts robust in these testing times. In this vein and taking a cue from Prime Minister Modi’s 3D animated videos, online yoga and music classes have been launched by the embassy from April 1 onwards, which have proved to be hugely popular with Bhutanese nationals. Likewise, Prime Minister Modi’s article on “Life in the era of COVID-19” has resonated well with the people of Bhutan, particularly with the youth and student community. Both the Royal University of Bhutan and Royal Thimphu College has posted PM’s article on their social media handles. Indeed, these times of COVID-19 have thrown up new challenges for us to pursue our priorities and focus on innovative ways to achieve our objectives to further the special India-Bhutan relationship.

COVID-19 crisis: Ensured essential supplies to Bhutan during lockdown, says Indian envoy Ruchira Kamboj

India has handed over the batch of medicines including HCQ to Egypt even as it has offered to train Egyptian health ministry officials under its e-ITEC programmes on COVID-19 management strategies.&nbsp;

Speaking exclusively to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Cairo, Indian envoy to Egypt Rahul Kulshreshth also said New Delhi has shared its "governance response" to COVID-19 with Egyptian authorities.&nbsp;

In fact, a few Egyptian dailies – Daily News and Al Masry Al Youm have carried information on India’s pre-emptive and proactive measures. Around 260 Indian nationals, mostly tourists, businessmen, professionals are stranded in Egypt.&nbsp;

WION: The role played by the Indian mission in Egypt in taking care of Indian citizens?

Rahul Kulshreshth: Our embassy began monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Egypt around mid-February, particularly in view of outbound tourism from India to Egypt.&nbsp;

In early March, a group of Indian tourists were placed in isolation on a river cruise boat in Luxor, along with other tourists on board the vessel.&nbsp;

Our officials maintained regular contact with the group and also followed up on their welfare and needs with the Egyptian Ministries of Tourism and Health and the tour operator, and coordinated their return to India after PCR testing.&nbsp;

One Indian tourist, who was part of the same group, tested positive for COVID-19 and was shifted to a quarantine facility by Egyptian authorities.&nbsp;

Here again, the embassy remained in regular touch with him, the Egyptian health ministry and the designated quarantine hospital till he recovered and returned to India. There were a couple of other cases in March, till international flights were suspended by Egyptian authorities on March 19 and tourists being placed in isolation or visitors from India facing difficulty with air tickets and here too our officials extended necessary assistance.&nbsp;

Unfortunately, one Indian national succumbed to COVID-19. We have extended necessary assistance to his family. &nbsp;For over the past month and a half we have maintained personal contact with the Indian Community Association and its members as well as student representatives.&nbsp;

Likewise, we have also maintained contact with Indian nationals stranded in Egypt to ascertain their welfare. Advisories have been issued by both Egyptian and Indian authorities have been regularly shared with the Indian community in Egypt.&nbsp; 
Embassy helpline numbers, details of designated officials handling COVID-19 related issues have been repeatedly publicized on the Mission’s website, Facebook and Twitter handles.&nbsp;

Consular services continue to be provided by the Mission, albeit in a limited fashion, in line with the precautions necessitated by the current situation.&nbsp;

We have a small but cohesive Indian community in Egypt that has a record of always helping and assisting Indian nationals in distress situations and supporting the embassy’s efforts.

WION: How many Indians were impacted by COVID-19?

Rahul Kulshreshth: There are about 260 Indian nationals stranded in Egypt. This includes tourists, businessmen, professionals who were on assignments and a few who have reported job losses. In addition, there are 350 Indian students in Egyptian universities.

WION: How are India and Egypt collaborating in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic?

Rahul Kulshreshth: Egypt is a close friend and one of our key partners in the region. On April 17, 2020, India's Prime Minister Modi had a telephone conversation with H.E. Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, which was widely covered in Egyptian media.&nbsp;

The leaders discussed the evolving global situation, exchanged information about the steps taken in India and Egypt to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, and agreed on the utility of continuous exchange of experiences and best-practices.&nbsp;

Prime Minister Modi also conveyed India's support in terms of pharmaceutical supplies during these difficult times. A first batch of medicines (HCQ and paracetamol tablets) as gift from the people and government of India has been handed over to the Egyptian Embassy in New Delhi. Other requirements are under process.&nbsp;

The MEA has been coordinating with the Egyptian embassy in New Delhi to facilitate the smooth evacuation of Egyptian nationals stranded in India as well as of Egyptian nationals from Bangladesh via India. We have also invited the Egyptian Health Ministry to participate in the e-ITEC short training live webinars for healthcare professionals on COVID-19 management strategies and related aspects organized under our ITEC programme. &nbsp;

WION: What do you think about the Egyptian model and have we shared any Indian model?

Rahul Kulshreshth: Egyptian government’s response to COVID-19 in terms of detection, testing, isolation, quarantine, contact-tracing and referral of positive cases has earned praise from WHO.&nbsp;

Egypt has also taken a number of measures and initiatives to stimulate the national economy, drawing praise from the IMF. The approach has been proactive and decisive, and measures that have been taken are being updated not only to deal with the current situation but also with an eye to the future.&nbsp;

We have shared information in respect of our governance response to COVID-19 with Egyptian authorities as well as the Indian community in Egypt. A few Egyptian dailies – Daily News and Al Masry Al Youm – carried information on India's pre-emptive and proactive measures.

India has handed over the batch of medicines including HCQ to Egypt even as it has offered to train Egyptian health ministry officials under its e-ITEC programmes on COVID-19 management strategies.

India has handed over the batch of medicines including HCQ to Egypt even as it has offered to train Egyptian health ministry officials under its e-ITEC programmes on COVID-19 management strategies. Speaking exclusively to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Cairo, Indian envoy to Egypt Rahul Kulshreshth also said New Delhi has shared its "governance response" to COVID-19 with Egyptian authorities. In fact, a few Egyptian dailies – Daily News and Al Masry Al Youm have carried information on India’s pre-emptive and proactive measures. Around 260 Indian nationals, mostly tourists, businessmen, professionals are stranded in Egypt. WION: The role played by the Indian mission in Egypt in taking care of Indian citizens? Rahul Kulshreshth: Our embassy began monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Egypt around mid-February, particularly in view of outbound tourism from India to Egypt. In early March, a group of Indian tourists were placed in isolation on a river cruise boat in Luxor, along with other tourists on board the vessel. Our officials maintained regular contact with the group and also followed up on their welfare and needs with the Egyptian Ministries of Tourism and Health and the tour operator, and coordinated their return to India after PCR testing. One Indian tourist, who was part of the same group, tested positive for COVID-19 and was shifted to a quarantine facility by Egyptian authorities. Here again, the embassy remained in regular touch with him, the Egyptian health ministry and the designated quarantine hospital till he recovered and returned to India. There were a couple of other cases in March, till international flights were suspended by Egyptian authorities on March 19 and tourists being placed in isolation or visitors from India facing difficulty with air tickets and here too our officials extended necessary assistance. Unfortunately, one Indian national succumbed to COVID-19. We have extended necessary assistance to his family. For over the past month and a half we have maintained personal contact with the Indian Community Association and its members as well as student representatives. Likewise, we have also maintained contact with Indian nationals stranded in Egypt to ascertain their welfare. Advisories have been issued by both Egyptian and Indian authorities have been regularly shared with the Indian community in Egypt. Embassy helpline numbers, details of designated officials handling COVID-19 related issues have been repeatedly publicized on the Mission’s website, Facebook and Twitter handles. Consular services continue to be provided by the Mission, albeit in a limited fashion, in line with the precautions necessitated by the current situation. We have a small but cohesive Indian community in Egypt that has a record of always helping and assisting Indian nationals in distress situations and supporting the embassy’s efforts. WION: How many Indians were impacted by COVID-19? Rahul Kulshreshth: There are about 260 Indian nationals stranded in Egypt. This includes tourists, businessmen, professionals who were on assignments and a few who have reported job losses. In addition, there are 350 Indian students in Egyptian universities. WION: How are India and Egypt collaborating in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic? Rahul Kulshreshth: Egypt is a close friend and one of our key partners in the region. On April 17, 2020, India's Prime Minister Modi had a telephone conversation with H.E. Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, which was widely covered in Egyptian media. The leaders discussed the evolving global situation, exchanged information about the steps taken in India and Egypt to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, and agreed on the utility of continuous exchange of experiences and best-practices. Prime Minister Modi also conveyed India's support in terms of pharmaceutical supplies during these difficult times. A first batch of medicines (HCQ and paracetamol tablets) as gift from the people and government of India has been handed over to the Egyptian Embassy in New Delhi. Other requirements are under process. The MEA has been coordinating with the Egyptian embassy in New Delhi to facilitate the smooth evacuation of Egyptian nationals stranded in India as well as of Egyptian nationals from Bangladesh via India. We have also invited the Egyptian Health Ministry to participate in the e-ITEC short training live webinars for healthcare professionals on COVID-19 management strategies and related aspects organized under our ITEC programme. WION: What do you think about the Egyptian model and have we shared any Indian model? Rahul Kulshreshth: Egyptian government’s response to COVID-19 in terms of detection, testing, isolation, quarantine, contact-tracing and referral of positive cases has earned praise from WHO. Egypt has also taken a number of measures and initiatives to stimulate the national economy, drawing praise from the IMF. The approach has been proactive and decisive, and measures that have been taken are being updated not only to deal with the current situation but also with an eye to the future. We have shared information in respect of our governance response to COVID-19 with Egyptian authorities as well as the Indian community in Egypt. A few Egyptian dailies – Daily News and Al Masry Al Youm – carried information on India's pre-emptive and proactive measures.

India hands over first batch of HCQ to Egypt, offers to train healthcare professionals

Ahead of Indian Navy's Operation “Samudra Setu” (Sea Bridge) to get back stranded Indians from the Maldives due to COVID crisis, Indian Envoy to the Maldives Sunjay Sudhir has said while the process starts on 8th May Mid Day, more such evacuation will happen in subsequent days. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from capital Male, Envoy Sunjay said, "We have the full backing of our govt" and "we are looking forward to 8th of May when the first lot of Indians will return back home to Kochi".

He confirmed 54 Indians have been tested positive in the Indian Ocean Island country. Meanwhile, New Delhi has been reaching out to the Maldives during the ongoing COVID crisis with medicines and in coming few days will be gifting 580 tons of essential food items including wheat, flours, eggs, sugar, potatoes and onions to the Maldives even as the country observes Ramzan.

WION: How is the mission reaching&nbsp;out to Indians stranded in the Maldives and the repatriation process is all set to start, your take?

Sunjay Sudhir:&nbsp;The Indian community is a high priority&nbsp;for us. In the Maldives, we have 27000 Indians, mainly in the hospitality&nbsp;sector, the medical profession, as well as the education profession. Of the total 550 cases, 54 Indians have tested positive. Fortunately, they are all in good&nbsp;health. We maintain very close contact with the community mainly using social media--Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber groups in the community. We try our best to share practical&nbsp;information, authentic information on how to deal with COVID and other evacuation related information.

I myself have given out 2 video messages to the Indian community. We have also set up helplines, on which people can call freely and speak in multiple Indian languages. As far as positive tested Indians are concerned we have sent out care packages which contain lot of essential things which can at least&nbsp;mitigate the difficult&nbsp;times which are Indian friends are going through. We have also made an&nbsp;arrangement&nbsp;for food for those who have lost the jobs and are finding difficult to fend for themselves.

We are providing medical assistance including essential medicines for stranded&nbsp;tourist. We have been able to create a complete database&nbsp;of Indians who want to go back to India. We will take Indian navy's ship help, the first of which, will arrive 2 days from now. Around midday of 8th of May, the first group of about 700 Indians will set sail back home,&nbsp;back to Kochi,&nbsp;that will be the first lot. After that we are planning few&nbsp;other evacuations though Navy ship.

&nbsp;

WION: How has the cooperation between India and Maldives going to jointly deal with COVID crisis.&nbsp;We launched operation Sanjevani to supply medicines to the Maldives..

Sunjay Sudhir:&nbsp;Cooperation on the COVID front has been characteristic of the relationship, the way we have been working with each other at almost&nbsp;all times in our history. The first thing we did was in the context of COVID is to evacuate all the 7 Maldivians from Wuhan. Actually, Maldives was the first country whose nationals we evacuated from Wuhan. Our 14 member rapid response medical team were here for 10 days in March.

Again the Maldives was the first country to which we sent a medical team. We also gifted about 5.5 tonnes&nbsp;of COVID related and other essential medicines to the govt of Maldives. Operation Sanjeevani was a very challenging operation which we could accomplish with the help of IAF. One IAF C130 picked up huge amount of medical consignment from 4 Indian cities and delivered that to Male, it was about 6.2 tonns.

This was done on April 2nd. We also facilitated&nbsp;continues supply of essential food items, also commodities like cement so that the construction&nbsp;sector does not suffer&nbsp;here. We have been facilitating&nbsp;evacuation flights for Maldivians, facilitating cargo flights. Digital video conferences have happened between trade officials, health officials and as we speak--series of 3 video conferences between top doctors of AIIMS and top doctors in the Maldives currently going on. The first of the series happened only yesterday. Within a week's time, we will also be gifting 580 tonnes&nbsp;of essential food items including wheat, flours, eggs, sugar, potatoes and onions to the govt of Maldives.

It has been testing times and also remembers it happens to be the holy month of Ramzan. On the economic front, the govt of Maldives has taken a big hit because of the hit to the tourism industry as well as the export of fishes. This has led to a bad liquidity situation. We have provided $150 million dollars worth of currency swap under the bilateral agreement which we had. This happened just a few days back and it happened of 27th April, we have been trying our level best to provide whatever assistance we can to govt of Maldives in these very very difficult times.

&nbsp;

WION: How has the&nbsp;cooperation to deal with COVID crisis been between the countries been under the&nbsp;SAARC framework..

Sunjay Sudhir:&nbsp;PM Modi has championed a regional approach to combat tourism, perhaps that is the most sustainable way in which we can handle a pandemic situation. In the digital video conference which PM initiated on March 5th with heads of state of govt of SAARC countries, India had announced a COVID emergency fund of 10 million dollars. And the Maldives was the first and perhaps the largest beneficiary of this fund so far.

The Maldives on its part also pledged $ 200,000 for this fund. PM had initiated some kind of viable framework for joint cooperation&nbsp;between SAARC countries to&nbsp;combat COVID.A digital video conference was also initiated by the SAARC disaster management centre in Gujarat with all the other countries to deal with this disaster could be discussed and that was a very successful&nbsp;video conference.

WION: How has been the&nbsp;ground situation and how are the Indian diplomats faring..

Sunjay Sudhir:&nbsp;I must say govt of Maldives has been trying its level best. President Solih has himself led the charge for this big challenge and for a long time they were able to protect Male. It was only on 15th April, the situation changed when the first person tested positive in the capital city and after that, you can imagine that in a city as congested as Male, it is very difficult to contain the spread and now, unfortunately, it has reached the level of community spread. I think things have plateaued&nbsp;out. Of the 550 cases, the&nbsp;majority are foreigners.

It all started with foreigners and even now if you look at Male, the&nbsp;majority are foreigners.&nbsp; Actually half the numbers are Bangladeshis because of a lot of Bangladeshi workers in Male. Govt is working on a war footing to contain the spread and create new isolation facilities but it is a herculean task.

For us at the high commission, it has been testing times. We are working overtime to take care of the community and at the same time provide assistance to the govt of Maldives. You have rightly mentioned it is the largest evacuation&nbsp;process globally as well as Indians in the Maldives. We have roped in some volunteers from the community and I must acknowledge&nbsp;that help has been very very forthcoming. We have the full backing of our govt that makes our task much less formidable. These days we are working day in and day out on evacuation exercise and we are looking&nbsp;forward to&nbsp;8th of May when the first lot of Indians will return back home to Kochi and then we will subsequently plan other rounds of evacuation in the days and weeks to come.

WION: Have we shared any Indian COVID containment models with the Maldives?

Sunjay Sudhir:&nbsp;We have done that. The Indian rapid response medical teams were first to visit the Maldives. It was first for the Maldives as well as Indian team to visit any country and that team came here with the protocols which were in practice, in India at that time, including the protocol developed by AIIMS and the medical teams also helped set up facilities in outline Islands. And as we speak digital video conference between the senior doctors from AIIMS including director Dr&nbsp;Randeep Guleria and very senior cardiologist Dr Ambuj Roy has been taking place.

The first session took place earlier and the Maldivian side was led by the Maldives minister of state for health who happens to be a medical doctor&nbsp;Dr Shah Mahir. In this discussion, I am told several containment models and approaches have been discussed and we continue to share best practices.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Ahead of Indian Navy's Operation “Samudra Setu” (Sea Bridge) to get back stranded Indians from the Maldives due to COVID crisis, Indian Envoy to the Maldives Sunjay Sudhir has said while the process starts on 8th May Mid Day, more such evacuation will happen in subsequent days.

Ahead of Indian Navy's Operation “Samudra Setu” (Sea Bridge) to get back stranded Indians from the Maldives due to COVID crisis, Indian Envoy to the Maldives Sunjay Sudhir has said while the process starts on 8th May Mid Day, more such evacuation will happen in subsequent days. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from capital Male, Envoy Sunjay said, "We have the full backing of our govt" and "we are looking forward to 8th of May when the first lot of Indians will return back home to Kochi". He confirmed 54 Indians have been tested positive in the Indian Ocean Island country. Meanwhile, New Delhi has been reaching out to the Maldives during the ongoing COVID crisis with medicines and in coming few days will be gifting 580 tons of essential food items including wheat, flours, eggs, sugar, potatoes and onions to the Maldives even as the country observes Ramzan. WION: How is the mission reaching out to Indians stranded in the Maldives and the repatriation process is all set to start, your take? Sunjay Sudhir: The Indian community is a high priority for us. In the Maldives, we have 27000 Indians, mainly in the hospitality sector, the medical profession, as well as the education profession. Of the total 550 cases, 54 Indians have tested positive. Fortunately, they are all in good health. We maintain very close contact with the community mainly using social media--Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber groups in the community. We try our best to share practical information, authentic information on how to deal with COVID and other evacuation related information. I myself have given out 2 video messages to the Indian community. We have also set up helplines, on which people can call freely and speak in multiple Indian languages. As far as positive tested Indians are concerned we have sent out care packages which contain lot of essential things which can at least mitigate the difficult times which are Indian friends are going through. We have also made an arrangement for food for those who have lost the jobs and are finding difficult to fend for themselves. We are providing medical assistance including essential medicines for stranded tourist. We have been able to create a complete database of Indians who want to go back to India. We will take Indian navy's ship help, the first of which, will arrive 2 days from now. Around midday of 8th of May, the first group of about 700 Indians will set sail back home, back to Kochi, that will be the first lot. After that we are planning few other evacuations though Navy ship. WION: How has the cooperation between India and Maldives going to jointly deal with COVID crisis. We launched operation Sanjevani to supply medicines to the Maldives.. Sunjay Sudhir: Cooperation on the COVID front has been characteristic of the relationship, the way we have been working with each other at almost all times in our history. The first thing we did was in the context of COVID is to evacuate all the 7 Maldivians from Wuhan. Actually, Maldives was the first country whose nationals we evacuated from Wuhan. Our 14 member rapid response medical team were here for 10 days in March. Again the Maldives was the first country to which we sent a medical team. We also gifted about 5.5 tonnes of COVID related and other essential medicines to the govt of Maldives. Operation Sanjeevani was a very challenging operation which we could accomplish with the help of IAF. One IAF C130 picked up huge amount of medical consignment from 4 Indian cities and delivered that to Male, it was about 6.2 tonns. This was done on April 2nd. We also facilitated continues supply of essential food items, also commodities like cement so that the construction sector does not suffer here. We have been facilitating evacuation flights for Maldivians, facilitating cargo flights. Digital video conferences have happened between trade officials, health officials and as we speak--series of 3 video conferences between top doctors of AIIMS and top doctors in the Maldives currently going on. The first of the series happened only yesterday. Within a week's time, we will also be gifting 580 tonnes of essential food items including wheat, flours, eggs, sugar, potatoes and onions to the govt of Maldives. It has been testing times and also remembers it happens to be the holy month of Ramzan. On the economic front, the govt of Maldives has taken a big hit because of the hit to the tourism industry as well as the export of fishes. This has led to a bad liquidity situation. We have provided $150 million dollars worth of currency swap under the bilateral agreement which we had. This happened just a few days back and it happened of 27th April, we have been trying our level best to provide whatever assistance we can to govt of Maldives in these very very difficult times. WION: How has the cooperation to deal with COVID crisis been between the countries been under the SAARC framework.. Sunjay Sudhir: PM Modi has championed a regional approach to combat tourism, perhaps that is the most sustainable way in which we can handle a pandemic situation. In the digital video conference which PM initiated on March 5th with heads of state of govt of SAARC countries, India had announced a COVID emergency fund of 10 million dollars. And the Maldives was the first and perhaps the largest beneficiary of this fund so far. The Maldives on its part also pledged $ 200,000 for this fund. PM had initiated some kind of viable framework for joint cooperation between SAARC countries to combat COVID.A digital video conference was also initiated by the SAARC disaster management centre in Gujarat with all the other countries to deal with this disaster could be discussed and that was a very successful video conference. WION: How has been the ground situation and how are the Indian diplomats faring.. Sunjay Sudhir: I must say govt of Maldives has been trying its level best. President Solih has himself led the charge for this big challenge and for a long time they were able to protect Male. It was only on 15th April, the situation changed when the first person tested positive in the capital city and after that, you can imagine that in a city as congested as Male, it is very difficult to contain the spread and now, unfortunately, it has reached the level of community spread. I think things have plateaued out. Of the 550 cases, the majority are foreigners. It all started with foreigners and even now if you look at Male, the majority are foreigners. Actually half the numbers are Bangladeshis because of a lot of Bangladeshi workers in Male. Govt is working on a war footing to contain the spread and create new isolation facilities but it is a herculean task. For us at the high commission, it has been testing times. We are working overtime to take care of the community and at the same time provide assistance to the govt of Maldives. You have rightly mentioned it is the largest evacuation process globally as well as Indians in the Maldives. We have roped in some volunteers from the community and I must acknowledge that help has been very very forthcoming. We have the full backing of our govt that makes our task much less formidable. These days we are working day in and day out on evacuation exercise and we are looking forward to 8th of May when the first lot of Indians will return back home to Kochi and then we will subsequently plan other rounds of evacuation in the days and weeks to come. WION: Have we shared any Indian COVID containment models with the Maldives? Sunjay Sudhir: We have done that. The Indian rapid response medical teams were first to visit the Maldives. It was first for the Maldives as well as Indian team to visit any country and that team came here with the protocols which were in practice, in India at that time, including the protocol developed by AIIMS and the medical teams also helped set up facilities in outline Islands. And as we speak digital video conference between the senior doctors from AIIMS including director Dr Randeep Guleria and very senior cardiologist Dr Ambuj Roy has been taking place. The first session took place earlier and the Maldivian side was led by the Maldives minister of state for health who happens to be a medical doctor Dr Shah Mahir. In this discussion, I am told several containment models and approaches have been discussed and we continue to share best practices.

Repatriation of Indians: First week will see 64 flights bringing back 14,000 people; maximum flights from the gulf to Kerala

Continuing to reaching out countries with medicines, India has cleared 2.50 metric ton of Hydroxychloroquine to Mexico. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Mexico City, Indian envoy to Mexico Manpreet Vohra talked about the recent conversation between foreign ministers of both the countries, how the mission is reaching out to the stranded Indians. No case of COVID has been reported in the Indian community in Mexico &amp; about 265 Indians have registered for repatriation.&nbsp;

WION: EAM Spoke to Mexican FM, how are we reaching out to the country at the time of covid crisis? any cooperation underway? 
 
Manpreet Vohra: EAM and Foreign Minister Ebrard exchanged notes on the Covid-19 situation and the various strategies being followed. They agreed that India and Mexico will share experiences of best public health practices. Post-Covid economic recovery was also a focus of their conversation.

WION: Have we talked about some covid containment model with them or have they shown interest on ours? 
 
Manpreet Vohra: EAM informed FM that, in response to Mexico’s request, Government of India had cleared the commercial export of 2.50 MT of Hydroxychloroquine API to Mexico.

WION: How many Indians stranded in Mexico and how are we reaching out to them? 
 
Manpreet Vohra: About 265 Indians stranded in Mexico have registered with us and await the opportunity to return home soon. The Embassy is in regular touch with them and has provided dedicated 24x7 emergency contact service. Wherever required, help with visa extensions, accommodation arrangements etc is being provided by us. I have personally held a Facebook Live interaction with them to assuage their concerns. Fortunately, all of them are in good health and fair spirits. There has not been a single case of infection reported so far among any of the 6500-strong Indian community in Mexico. Am proud and happy that they are taking all precautions and observing social distancing and other guidelines of the Mexican Government.

WION: How has been the situation on the ground, how are our diplomats doing, is it tough? 
 
Manpreet Vohra: Mexico is witnessing an increasing number of confirmed cases and the healthcare system is facing considerable challenges. In recent weeks, the Mexican Government has tried hard to increase hospital capacities and critical supplies. My colleagues in the Embassy and their family members are safe and well so far. &nbsp;All of us are taking the necessary precautions. We are mostly working from home but making full use of technology and ensuring that no aspect of our work suffers. Lockdown can be difficult for anyone, and this is an unprecedented crisis, but we are all determined to face the challenge and eventually prevail over it.

Continuing to reaching out countries with medicines, India has cleared 2.50 metric ton of Hydroxychloroquine to Mexico. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Mexico City, Indian envoy to Mexico Manpreet Vohra talked about the recent conversation between foreign ministers of both the countries, how the mission is reaching out to the stranded Indians.

Continuing to reaching out countries with medicines, India has cleared 2.50 metric ton of Hydroxychloroquine to Mexico. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Mexico City, Indian envoy to Mexico Manpreet Vohra talked about the recent conversation between foreign ministers of both the countries, how the mission is reaching out to the stranded Indians. No case of COVID has been reported in the Indian community in Mexico & about 265 Indians have registered for repatriation. WION: EAM Spoke to Mexican FM, how are we reaching out to the country at the time of covid crisis? any cooperation underway? Manpreet Vohra: EAM and Foreign Minister Ebrard exchanged notes on the Covid-19 situation and the various strategies being followed. They agreed that India and Mexico will share experiences of best public health practices. Post-Covid economic recovery was also a focus of their conversation. WION: Have we talked about some covid containment model with them or have they shown interest on ours? Manpreet Vohra: EAM informed FM that, in response to Mexico’s request, Government of India had cleared the commercial export of 2.50 MT of Hydroxychloroquine API to Mexico. WION: How many Indians stranded in Mexico and how are we reaching out to them? Manpreet Vohra: About 265 Indians stranded in Mexico have registered with us and await the opportunity to return home soon. The Embassy is in regular touch with them and has provided dedicated 24x7 emergency contact service. Wherever required, help with visa extensions, accommodation arrangements etc is being provided by us. I have personally held a Facebook Live interaction with them to assuage their concerns. Fortunately, all of them are in good health and fair spirits. There has not been a single case of infection reported so far among any of the 6500-strong Indian community in Mexico. Am proud and happy that they are taking all precautions and observing social distancing and other guidelines of the Mexican Government. WION: How has been the situation on the ground, how are our diplomats doing, is it tough? Manpreet Vohra: Mexico is witnessing an increasing number of confirmed cases and the healthcare system is facing considerable challenges. In recent weeks, the Mexican Government has tried hard to increase hospital capacities and critical supplies. My colleagues in the Embassy and their family members are safe and well so far. All of us are taking the necessary precautions. We are mostly working from home but making full use of technology and ensuring that no aspect of our work suffers. Lockdown can be difficult for anyone, and this is an unprecedented crisis, but we are all determined to face the challenge and eventually prevail over it.

India clears commercial export of 2.50 MT of Hydroxychloroquine  to Mexico: Manpreet Vohra

Author

Zee News Rajasthan

Editor

Sidhant Sibal

Home

Live Tv

Latest

World

India

Business

Entertainment

Sports

Opinions

Videos

Photos

Gravitas

Lifestyle

Science

Tech

Rajasthan News in Hindi: In-depth coverage of Rajasthan Crime, Political News, Education, Rajasthan Weather Update and Latest Rajasthan News on Zee News Rajasthan.