The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced today, Sunday, that the European Union is ready to provide rapid assistance to India, as it faces the worsening Corona virus crisis, which has seen the number of infections and deaths rise to record levels.
Von der Leyen wrote in a tweet on the social networking site "Twitter": We are concerned about the epidemiological situation in India, we are ready to provide support.
"The European Union is mobilizing resources to respond quickly to India's request for assistance through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism. We are in full solidarity with the Indian people."
According to the British newspaper "The Guardian", the mechanism allows European Union countries to coordinate their aid in emergency situations.
It quoted the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Janez Linarkic, as saying that the contributions of oxygen and medicine are already being coordinated by member states.
And German Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier today that her government is preparing emergency aid to India.
The newspaper pointed out that there were no immediate details of what Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, would present, but the weekly "Der Spiegel" reported that the country's armed forces had received a request for help in organizing the oxygen supply.
India's healthcare system has been struggling to cope with the skyrocketing number of infections, with reports of severe shortages of oxygen and medication and patients' families asking for help on social media.
The country - with a population of 1.3 billion - recorded 349,691 new cases and 2,767 deaths during the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic.
On the other hand, Canadian Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Anita Anand, expressed her country's readiness to assist India in alleviating the Corona pandemic crisis, saying, "We will be ready with personal protection tools, ventilators and any equipment that may be useful to the government of India."
The Minister clarified - in statements carried by the Indian newspaper "Hindustan Times" today - that the Canadian government is in contact with India, through its High Commissioner in New Delhi, to discuss "several options that may be available for us to help," adding, "We will continue to provide assistance as long as possible." ".
In the same context, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - in a blog post on its Twitter account - affirmed its eagerness to provide support to India, saying, "We remain united with our friends and partners and ready to provide assistance ... We are with the people of India in the face of the Corona pandemic."
It is noteworthy that Canada and India agreed during last February to provide two million doses of the "AstraZeneca" vaccine made in India, and send it to Canada to confront the Corona virus, where the first batch, estimated at 500 thousand doses, was sent early last month.
Comments
Post a Comment