The coronavirus pandemic is taking over the whole world. Of the 50 countries that were identified by New Delhi for the supply of hydroxychloroquine, to treat coronavirus case, 20 were from Africa. Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar has stated that India will help and supply medicines to the counterparts of four African nations – Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali to fight the coronavirus pandemic which has affected 2.6 million people worldwide.
S Jaishankar made a series of posts on twitter to give the updates about the support to Africa. “An Africa-focus working day. Useful conversations with Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Comoros, Uganda and Mali. Historical solidarity on display in the midst of contemporary challenges,” Jaishankar said in one of a series of Twitter posts. Speaking about India’s growing cooperation with the Sahel, a region of African Continent lying in the immediate South of Sahara Desert stretching from Senegal on the Atlantic coast of the continent to Sudan and Eritrea on the Red Sea coast in the east. After PM Modi’s conversation with President Museveni, the supply of medical supplies and health equipment to Uganda has been confirmed and hands for health cooperation and development cooperation in Comoros has been extended, said Jaishankar in another post in the series.
In recent years, India has always extended its hands in the diplomatic engagements with the African continent. In 2018, India announced that it would open 18 new missions in Africa. India is expected to hold its flagship India-Africa summit in 2020, five years after it was held in New Delhi where 54 African delegations were present.
Evoking the centuries-old ties of friendship and people-to-people exchanges between India and Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his earlier twitter post mentioned that India will support South Africa in maintaining essential support and medical supplies to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. He said that he had a discussion with African president and supplies will be done in a very short time. India also extended hands to help Egypt to fight the pandemic.
