The US President did not specify in a tweet, but he meant the assistance announced by his administration on Sunday was similar in nature – and reciprocal – to the lifting of an export ban by India to release a consignment of HCQ by PM Narendra Modi in April last year. US President Joe Biden on Sunday said the assistance offered by his country to India to combat a devastating surge in Covid-19 cases is in exchange for the help provided by India last year when America was struggling to tackle the outbreak.
He also said Washington was “determined” to help New Delhi, pushing back on narrative that America was late to come to India’s rescue.
“Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,” Biden wrote in a tweet on Sunday, retweeting a post from his National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who announced the assistance after a phone call with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
People familiar with discussions leading up to the announcement on both sides echoed the framing of the assistance as a gesture between partners, with the US returning the favour.
Biden did not specify in the tweet, but he meant the assistance announced by his administration on Sunday was similar in nature – and reciprocal – to the lifting of an export ban by India to release a consignment of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year on a request from then president Donald Trump.