Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday thanked Donald Trump after the US president offered to donate hundreds of ventilators to India to help it fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“Thank you @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. This pandemic is being fought collectively by all of us. In such times, it’s always important for nations to work together and do as much as possible to make our world healthier and free from COVID-19,” PM Modi tweeted.
“More power to ?? – ?? friendship!” he added.
Trump had announced the decision to send the ventilators on Twitter to underline close relations between the two countries.
“I am proud to announce that the United States will donate ventilators to our friends in India. We stand with India and @narendrmodi during this pandemic,” the president wrote in the tweet, as he went on to acknowledge the vaccine projects.
The United States will airlift 200 mobile ventilators to help Indians combat Covid-19, people familiar with the developments told HT. One ventilator will cost $13,000 (Rs 9.6 lakh at current exchange rates) approximately and India will have to pay $2.6 million (Rs 192 million) plus freight charges for all of them.
Trump reiterated the point at his press conference later, referring to his India visit in February, the role played by Indian expatriates in the US and described PM Modi as a “good friend of mine”.
“We are working closely with India,” he told reporters.
Trump also said the US and India were cooperating to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 as more than 4.5 million people have contracted the disease and over 307,000 have died globally.
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