Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, thanking India after the government allowed the United States to buy 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug believed effective in the treatment of corona virus.
“Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten! Thank you Prime Minister @Narendra Modi for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight!” the American President tweeted.
“I want to thank Prime Minister Modi of India for allowing us to have what we requested for the problem arose and he was terrific. We will remember it,” Mr Trump later told reporters at his daily White House news conference on corona virus on Wednesday.
Donald Trump had warned of “retaliation” if India did not agree to export hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug which is being tested as a corona virus cure.
Amid rising pressure and requests for the key drug from over 30 countries, led by the United States, the government on Tuesday said it will allow limited exports of the key drug to “nations that have been badly affected” by the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump confirmed that the first shipment of a total of 29 million doses of the drug was on its way from three factories in Gujarat to the United States
I bought millions of doses… more than 29 million. I spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, a lot of it comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it. He was great. He was really good,” Donald Trump told American channel Fox News.
The US recorded nearly 2,000 novel corona virus deaths for a second day in a row, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The record-breaking figure of 1,973 deaths (slightly higher than the previous day’s toll of 1,939) brings the total number of US fatalities to 14,695.
