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'Strategic partnership of global significance': MEA after US sends Covid help
The second emergency relief shipment with oxygen-related equipment, diagnostic kits, masks and pulse oximeters too is expected on Friday.
India on Friday thanked the United States after it sent the first consignment of Covid-19 aid and said the healthcare partnership between the two nations can help tackle the global pandemic effectively. "A strategic partnership of global significance! Our healthcare partnership can help effectively tackle the global pandemic. Deeply appreciate gift of 423 oxygen cylinders with regulators and other medical supplies from the U.S.A.," the ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
The first consignment of emergency Covid-19 aid, including hundreds of oxygen cylinders and regulators, sent by the US landed in India on Friday morning. “The first of several emergency #COVID19 relief shipments from the United States has arrived in India! Building on over 70 years of cooperation, the United States stands with India as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic together,” the US embassy in New Delhi tweeted sharing photos of the consignment.
The supplies in the first emergency relief shipment included over 400 oxygen cylinders and regulators donated by California, 960,000 rapid diagnostic tests and 100,000 N95 masks provided by USAID. The US sent help after its President Joe Biden assured to stand by India in its time of crisis. Biden spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Covid-19 situation. The interaction between the two leaders also came after the US, after facing criticism, lifted the embargo on the export of raw material needed by the Serum Institute of India to produce Covid-19 vaccine Covishield.
“The President pledged America’s steadfast support for the people of India who have been impacted by the recent surge in Covid-19 cases…the United States is providing a range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials and therapeutics,” the White House said in a statement.
The second emergency relief shipment with oxygen-related equipment, diagnostic kits, masks and pulse oximeters too is expected on Friday. Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla on Thursday said that more support is expected from over 40 countries, mostly oxygen-related equipment and critical medicines, to strengthen India’s response to an “unprecedented second wave” of coronavirus infections.
