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French ambassador says country to announce exceptional package for India to fight COVID-19

The French development agency AFD has granted an exceptional loan of 200 million euros (Rs 1,600 crore) to provide social services to the most vulnerable population in India.

French ambassador says country to announce exceptional package for India to fight COVID-19

Migrant labourers wait with their their bags placed inside circles marked along a road to maintain social distancing as they wait to board the specially arranged government bus to return to their homes during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Kolkata on April 29, 2020. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

France will soon announce an “exceptional package” for India, including ventilators and expertise, as part of its efforts to jointly combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the French envoy to India said today. In his message on the French National Day, Bastille Day, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain said that since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the two countries have shown exceptional solidarity.

“India has provided much-needed equipment and drugs to French hospitals. Friendship is a two-way road and France has reciprocated,” Lenain said.

The French development agency AFD has granted an exceptional loan of 200 million euros (Rs 1,600 crore) to provide social services to the most vulnerable population in India, he said.

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“We are going to announce soon an exceptional package comprising serological test (kits), ventilators, and some expertise,” the French envoy said in the message posted on all social media handles of the French Embassy here.

Solidarity has been exceptional in the way the Indian government has lent support to the operation to repatriate stranded tourists, he said, thanking Indian authorities for it. Another great way to express solidarity is the involvement of French companies in corporate social responsibility, he said. Lenain cited the example of French firms partnering Indian companies for producing ventilators and a French firm contributing 65 ICU beds.

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