Coronavirus: India reaches out to Maldives, sends three months' medical supplies

India has reached out to the Maldives with medical supplies and by sending a medical team in the backdrop of growing coronavirus epidemic. The Indian envoy to Maldives Sanjay Sudhir handed over three months supply of medicines weighing 5.5 tonnes to Maldives foreign minister Shahid Abdulla.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the Indian envoy said, "Pandemics do not know national boundaries and COVID-19 has taken its toll globally and the world is under its impact. The world is going through difficult times and so is India and so is the Maldives. This is the time for friends to stand with each other and support each other in action as India and Maldives are doing today."

Explaining, "Being the major country in the SAARC region, and also the Indian Ocean region, who else can provide concrete and timely support to the Maldives, it has to India. We are trying our best, to do our bit in this joint efforts."

Maldives foreign minister has welcomed the gesture and in a tweet said, "It will be a tremendous help as we combat the #COVID19. One country alone cannot face this pandemic. Together, we shall prevail".

A 14-member Indian team of pulmonologists, anaesthetists, physicians and lab technicians reached the Indian Ocean country on Friday.

In the month of February, India evacuated nine Maldivians in two evacuation missions along with other Indian nationals from Wuhan in China which is the epicentre of the crisis. Earlier this year, India provided 30,000 doses of measles vaccines within 72 hours of request made by Male.