Neighboring India has donated food supply to the Maldives as part of it ongoing assistance to island nations in their response efforts against Covid-19.

Under “Mission SAGAR” India is to provide consignments of essential supply to five island nations on the east of the Indian Ocean.

Mission SAGAR began with Maldives being the first destination and Indian Navy ship, INS Kesari entered the Malé port carrying 580 tonnes of essential food items on Tuesday morning, as a gift from the people and government of India to the people and government of Maldives, said the High Commission of India in the Maldives (HCI Maldives).

The consignment is followed by a telephone conversation between President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 20, through which bilateral cooperation in the face of the pandemic were discussed.

HCI Maldives earlier revealed that the food aid “is part of India’s Security and Growth for All (SAGAR) doctrine of the government of India”.

The Indian Navy ship will also be travelling to Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros and Madagascar to provide the food aid under the mission.

From the beginning, India has been assisting the Maldives Covid-19 response efforts in various ways. This included having evacuated Maldivians stranded in Wuhan, sending consignments of medical supplies as well as a team of medical experts. The Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Sunjay Sudhir had also noted that Maldives is the first country to receive Indian assistance due to the pandemic.

HCI Maldives also revealed that the food aid is “a token of friendship from the people of India to the people of Maldives during the holy month of Ramadan”, noting that both countries have supported regional strategy to tackle the pandemic.