India has sent 75,000 MT of wheat and several consignments of medicines to Afghanistan amid the pandemic

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has thanked India for its aid amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) heads of state virtual meet on Tuesday, Ghani said, "India provided over one-hundred thousand tons of wheat at a time when markets were jittery through the Chabahar corridor and kept the air corridor open."

With an aim to provide food security to the country amid the pandemic, India has sent 75,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan. The shipment of wheat was supplied to the country in 10 installments between April and September via India built Chabahar port in Iran.

On receiving the aid, Afghan Charge d'Affaires Tahir Quadiry had also expressed his gratitude towards India for completing the donation of 75,000 metric tonnes of wheat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He had said that the testing times have proved that India is a ‘friend indeed.’

Besides, to tackle COVID-19, India has also provided Afghanistan with 5,00,000 tablets of HydroxyChloroquine for health professionals and positive cases.

Notably, India is one of the largest development partners of Afghanistan with a commitment of more than US $ 3 billion. It has time and again reiterated the importance of an inclusive, Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, Afghan-controlled peace, and reconciliation process.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the SCO virtual meet. Afghanistan is an observer member of the SCO grouping.