The government of India has facilitated the transport of essential medicines at the request of the Maldivian government, on Thursday.
As such, 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines were brought to Maldives with the support of the Indian armed forces.
The medicines were procured through the State Trading Organization (STO) from various cities of India.
The shipment includes medicines including essential medicines being used in hospitals including for the treatment of coronavirus.
Following this, the government of Maldives extended deep appreciation to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi as well as the External Affairs Minister of the country, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as well as the government and people of India for its "timely assistance" in transporting these medicines at a time when movement have been restricted in and out of India due to the pandemic.
Speaking at the event at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid stated that as always, the Indian government has displayed its generosity and regard to Maldives and its people by accepting the government’s request for the medicines to be picked up from several locations in India and transported to Maldives.
“Today we celebrate yet another momentous occasion in the Maldives-India relationship. As we are all aware, Covid-19 has brought many challenges to the way we live. The most profound change has been to global transport networks. Due to the rising fear of the spread of the virus, many countries have had to close their borders and flights have been suspended. This has not only impacted the movement of people, but also the movement of goods. For a country that imports almost all of its essentials, for the Maldives, this has been a huge challenge. One such important essential item is medicine. One of our biggest source market for medicine is, India. The temporary restrictions of movement within and out of India many orders procured by the STO was stuck there without any way of reaching Maldives.”FM Shahid
The minister extended profound gratitude from the Maldives government and people for the generous assistance offered by the Indian government.
“I must take this opportunity to thank the Indian government and the Indian people for always being a partner and a friend in need. India has always been on our side, lending a supporting hand through every hardship and helping to overcome any difficulty. We thank the Indian government, especially the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subramanyam Jaishankar as always, the Indian people for this gesture. I also pay a special tribute to the High Commissioner, Sunjay Sudhir who has been the pillar of the relationship between Maldives and India”FM Shahid
Also speaking at the event, High Commissioner of India to the Maldives, Sunjay Sudhir noted that Maldives is the first country to receive medical assistance from India during the Covid-19 crisis and also the first to receive 5.5 tons of Covid-related medicines a few weeks back.
It was the first to receive a rapid response medical team and the first country whose nationals were evacuated from Wuhan and today it is the first country where the Indian government has transported the medicines after the lockdown in India and stoppage of civilian aircraft, said Sudhir.
“Today is a very happy day when we see friendship in action, Operation SANJEEVANI has been completed successfully. 6.2 tons of medicines and medical consumables have been successfully transported to Malé. India-Maldives relations are very special, they are defined by mutual respect and we are always by each other’s side. Maldives is also the largest beneficiary in India’s Covid-emergency fund, this was announced by PM Modi for SAAARC countries on 15 March. All this is a glowing example of India’s neighborhood first policy.”High Commissioner Sudhir
