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Taiwan, Uzbekistan send support for India’s Covid-19 response
Taiwan’s aid reflects its growing engagement with India, especially against the backdrop of the standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and China’s aggressive actions across the region, including repeated violations of Taiwan’s airspace
Taiwan on Sunday delivered a support package, including 150 oxygen concentrators, for India’s response to a devastating second wave of Coronavirus infections and said it would provide more aid soon.
The aid reflects the growing engagement between India and Taiwan, especially against the backdrop of the standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and China’s aggressive actions across the region, including repeated violations of Taiwan’s airspace.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC), Taiwan’s representative office in New Delhi, said in a statement the critical medical supplies were delivered to “express strong friendship with India in its fight against a new wave” of the pandemic.
The first batch includes 150 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders, and more batches of medical equipment will be airlifted to India soon, TECC said.
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“While the contribution is modest, we hope that it will bring comfort and relief to the patients in need and ease the burden on the healthcare workers who are working tirelessly to fight the pandemic,” the statement said.
“Taiwan is committed to providing necessary assistance to the people of India in time of need,” it added.
TECC reaffirmed the friendly bilateral relations between Taiwan and India, and said: “Taiwan’s deployment of medical supplies is testament to the close collaboration and partnership across multiple agencies on both sides. It also reflects the robust relief efforts and contributions made by the government and people of Taiwan to bring humanitarian relief to India.”
On April 27, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen had conveyed her solidarity with India and expressed concern about the situation in the country as it logged record-breaking daily surges of infection for consecutive days.
“On behalf of all #Taiwanese people, I would like to express my serious concern over the rapid spread of COVID-19 in #India. Taiwan stands with India in this difficult time, & we are ready to provide help,” she tweeted.
Several other smaller countries have pitched in to support India’s fight against the second wave of infections, which last week crossed the 400,000-mark for the first time. Some have said they were responding to the assistance provided by New Delhi last year.
Uzbekistan, which benefited from India’s assistance during the first wave of the pandemic last year and received 660,000 doses of Indian-made Covid-19 vaccine in March, delivered a support package comprising 100 oxygen concentrators, doses of the antiviral drug Remdesivir and other medicines early on Sunday.
