JOIN USUS President Donald Trump says US will not forget India’s help on Hydroxychloroquine
The United States President Donald Trump has said that his nation would not forget that India had relaxed the ban on the export of the Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to enable it to procure the drug for the treatment of the COVID-19 infected Americans.
“Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten!” Trump posted on Twitter late on Wednesday.
His tweet came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government in New Delhi decided to relax the ban it had earlier imposed on export of the drug.
“Thank you Prime Minister @NarendraModi for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight!” added Trump, who had earlier threatened “retaliation” to step up pressure on New Delhi to relax the ban.
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 @NarendraModi for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020
The US President’s latest tweet thanking the Prime Minister and people of India appeared to be a move to soothe the feathers ruffled by his threat.
Just hours after Trump talked tough on New Delhi’s ban on the export of the HCQ, the Modi government on Tuesday announced that India would supply the drug to its neighbours in South Asia as well as some other worst COVID-19 affected countries. It hinted that the US would be among the countries, which would be allowed to procure the drug from India.
The Congress and other opposition parties criticised the Modi government for New Delhi’s decision to allow export of the HCQ to the US instead of strongly responding to the American President’s warning about “retaliation”.
The government, however, said that it had decided to allow export of the drug only after ensuring the availability of it in adequate quantities in the country to meet domestic requirements in the event of a rapid surge in the number of the people infected by the COVID-19.
“It has been ensured that the HCQ will never be in short supply in the country, not only now, but even in future, as and when needed,” Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told journalists on Wednesday.
Trump earlier showered praise on the Prime Minister. “I bought millions of doses (of the HCQ). More than 29 million (doses of the HCQ). I spoke to Prime Minister Modi. A lot of it (HCQ) comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it,” the US President told the Fox News. “He (Modi) was great. He was really good.”
The HCQ has been recommended for treatment of the COVID-19 patients, not only in India and the United States, but also in many other countries around the world. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of the Government of India had banned the export of the anti-malaria drug on April 4 “without any exception”. This had created a roadblock for the US and the other countries to procure the drug from India. Trump had on Sunday called Modi and requested him to relax the ban so that the US could procure the drug from India. He later subtly stepped up pressure on New Delhi.
The COVID-19 has infected at least 363,321 people in the United States while at least 10,845 of them have died so far. In India, so far 5149 people have fallen sick after being infected by the virus and 149 of them died.