China, Sri Lanka Reach Out To India

Days after offering to support India that’s currently grappling with a spike in Covid-19 cases, China has reached out yet again. In a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi shared his empathy. Calling Coronavirus the ‘common enemy of mankind’, he expressed China’s support to India and its people. Anti-pandemic materials produced in China are entering India at a faster pace, he wrote.
China isn’t the only one to express solidarity with India. Relief materials are streaming in and so are good wishes. In his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he’s confident India will soon ‘thwart the current havoc of the pathogen’. The Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka plan to recite the ‘Rathana Sutra’ to invoke blessings on the people of India, he wrote. He also expressed his gratitude for the 500,000 doses of Covid vaccines that India had donated, which helped the island nation launch its vaccination programme.