Saudi Arabia has shipped 80 tonnes of liquid oxygen to India, as the condition of the country continues to deteriorate.
About 3,49,691 new coronavirus cases are recorded over the past 24 hours in India. According to the Union Health Ministry data, the total death toll has increased to 1,92,311.
The shipment is supplied in cooperation with the Adani group and Linde company.
“Embassy of India is proud to partner with Adani group and M/s Linde in shipping much needed 80MT liquid oxygen to India. Our heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Health Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all their help, support, and cooperation,” the Indian mission in Riyadh tweeted.
India is in a very poor state due to the second wave of the pandemic. It is struggling under a shortage of medical equipment, beds and oxygen in the hospitals.
On Saturday, The Indian Air Force brought four cryogenic tanks which are used to store oxygen, from Singapore.
Then with the help of the C17 heavy-lift aircraft of the IAF, these containers were airlifted from Singapore.
The IAF also helped with the transportation of essential medicines as well as equipment to the designated COVID-19 hospital across the country.
The Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr Ausaf Sayeed in a recent interview said- “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is very strong. We are strategic partners and we do care for each other’s concerns,”.
“As India is going through a very tough time and there is an oxygen shortage, we reached out to friendly countries like Saudi Arabia to see the possibility of importing oxygen,”- He added.
Highlighting the India-Saudi relationship amidst pandemic, he told that India provided the Kingdom with 5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Therefore, to meet the growing demand for oxygen, India has reached out to various countries.
Moreover, President of the European Council Charles Michel said in a tweet, “The EU stands in solidarity with the Indian people amidst resurgent COVID-19 pandemic. The fight against the virus is a common fight. We will discuss our support and cooperation at EU India Leaders’ meeting on 8 May with @narendramodi and @antoniocostapm”.
President Emmanuel Macron of France also extended support to the subcontinent.
