VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 Indonesia, in a show of solidarity and support, has donated 1,400 oxygen concentrators to India to help the South Asian country tackle a spike in COVID-19 cases.

The oxygen concentrators were handed over to the Indian government through the Indian Red Cross Society at the Nhava Sheva Port on Tuesday (June 8, 2021), according to a written statement released by the Indonesian consulate general in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Mumbai-based Indonesian consul general Agus P. Saptono received the oxygen concentrators at the port and handed them over to the India Red Cross Society (IRCS) for further distribution.

With the latest donation of five container loads of concentrators, the number of oxygen concentrators provided by Indonesia to India since May 12 this year has reached three thousand.

Indonesia plans to send another two thousand oxygen concentrators to India, which are scheduled to reach the port at the end of June this year.

The assistance reflects the spirit of the two countries' togetherness in facing the pandemic and aims to help India get through a difficult time caused by a surge in COVID-19 cases, Saptono said.

The pandemic is a common problem facing all countries, so they need to build strong collaborations to resolve it, he added.

Meanwhile, IRCS’ regional passport officer (Maharashtra), who represented the Indian Foreign Ministry, expressed appreciation and gratitude to Indonesia for the assistance, which, he said, would be very useful to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Indonesia and India have good cooperation and support each other, Saptono said adding, the cooperation has lasted more than 70 years, and India is one of Indonesia's strategic partners.

"With the assistance from Indonesia, we hope the cooperation between the two countries will increasingly become stronger in the future, particularly in facing the COVID-19 pandemic," he remarked.

The Indonesian government, in cooperation with industry associations and other stakeholders, had dispatched 1,400 oxygen cylinders to India on May 10, 2021 and another 200 concentrators on May 24.

As an old and close ally and strategic partner, Indonesia has kept abreast of the developments of the pandemic in India and is ready to respond to urgent requirements for oxygen supplies to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the South Asian country, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi had stated earlier.  (Antaranews)