WASHINGTON :
US President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing the export of hydroxychloroquine pills that can potentially be used as a coronavirus cure.
“Our national stockpile is now equipped with nearly 30 million hydroxychloroquine pills. We distribute them by the millions. I want to thank Prime Minister Modi of India for allowing us to have what we requested…He was terrific, we will remember it”, the President said during the COVID response daily briefing at the White House.
Trump has repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine, widely used to treat malaria, as a therapeutics against coronavirus, though its effects are yet to be scientifically proven. On Wednesday, Trump publicly thanked PM Modi for lifting export restrictions on the drug.
“Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you, India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten! Thank you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight!”, Trump had said in a tweet.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian government had announced that it has partially lifted a ban on exporting the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), just hours after Mr Trump repeated demands to obtain the product. In the wake of Coronavirus outbreak, India, in March, had banned the export of hydroxychloroquine, a drug that could be used as a potential anti-viral agent, and other generic medicines.