Hasina, Modi discuss regional efforts at combating Covid-19

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke on the phone to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and discussed the regional situation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The two leaders discussed the regional situation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and briefed each other about the steps being taken to mitigate its effects in the respective country," the Indian Prime Minister's Office said in a statement tonight.

Modi, on behalf of the people of India and himself, conveyed greetings to Hasina and the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

Hasina "thanked Modi for taking the lead in coordinating efforts to combat Covid-19 in the region and for supplying aid to Bangladesh, both in terms of medical supplies and capacity-building," the statement said.

Both the leaders expressed satisfaction at the continued supply of essential items across the border through road, rail, inland waterways and air, it added.

Prime Minister Modi, recalling the shared bonds of history, culture, language and fraternal ties between the two countries, "expressed satisfaction at the excellent state of bilateral relations and assured India's readiness to help Bangladesh in containing the spread of Covid-19 and in mitigating the health and economic impact of the pandemic."

Both the leaders expressed happiness at the progress made in implementing the special arrangements agreed on March 15 between the leaders of the SAARC countries through video conferencing, when India proposed a regional emergency fund for responding to Covid-19.

India and Bangladesh have pledged ten million dollars and 1.5 million dollars respectively as their contributions to the Fund.

Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for Bangladesh's contribution of USD 1.5 million towards the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund.

In the last three days, India handed three separate tranche of emergency medical supplies containing Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets and sterile surgical latex gloves to Bangladesh to combat the pandemic.

During the telephone conversation, Modi conveyed his best wishes for the good health and well-being of Hasina and all the people of Bangladesh, the Indian PMO statement said.