India gifts 1 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Maldives
India has provided 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine as gift to the Maldives.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began a two-day tour of the Indian Ocean island country today taking the consignment of vaccine doses with him.
Addressing an event in Male, Jaishankar said the two countries have special place for each other in foreign policy at one level and "in our hearts at another".
Stressing on the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries, Jaishankar said, "It is, therefore, quite natural that the first and largest recipient of India's Covid-19 support -- be it medicines, food, medical response teams or financial package -- was Maldives."
The Maldives was the first country where India-made Covid-19 vaccines landed and this was just within 96 hours of India's own vaccine roll out, he pointed out.
"To further assist you in this drive, I have today carried with me another consignment of 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine as India's gift to the government and people of the Maldives," Jaishankar said.
The Indian foreign minister also commended Maldives' "efficient" vaccination drive. The Maldives is the third best in the world in terms of daily doses administered per 100 population.
Minister Jaishankar also announced a standalone Line of Credit of 40 million dollars for development of sports infrastructure in the Maldives.
"We hope this new LOC will be signed soon after the formalities are complete," he added.
Comments