Colombo: A 12.5-tonne gift consignment of essential medicines and medical items from India arrived in Colombo today by a special flight along with the new Indian High Commissioner-designate to Colombo, Gopal Baglay. The Indian High Commission in Colombo said the gift consignment of medicines arrived in the ongoing auspicious Vesak week as a special friendly gesture from the Government and the people of India.

The gift consignment - the fourth in recent weeks - underscores the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, enunciated in his video conference with SAARC leaders on 15th March 2020, to jointly fight COVID-19 pandemic. Three consignments of essential life-saving medicines and medical gloves from India were handed over to Sri Lanka last month.

The medical consignment reached Colombo with the High Commissioner-designate of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on board the same flight.

Soon after landing at BIA, the High Commissioner-designate conveyed the greetings from the people of India to the people of Sri Lanka on the occasion of Vesak. He also stated that the mission entrusted to him highlights the very high significance of steadfast friendship, solidarity and cooperation between India and Sri Lanka - two of the closest maritime neighbors in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region.

He also stated that India’s continued commitment to share its resources with friends and partner nations even at a time when many countries the world over faced scarcity of medical products due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent supply chain disruptions, is in line with the abiding faith of India’s leadership in the dictum of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ (the whole world is but one family).

The High-Commissioner-designate assumes his duties while observing stipulated health protocol, the High Commission said.

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