INS Jalashwa reaches Ehoala, Madagascar to deliver humanitarian aid to deal with drought

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Jalashwa on Monday reached the port of Ehoala, Madagascar to deliver a consignment of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice and 100,000 tablets of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to help Madagascar in dealing with severe drought in South Madagascar.

According to a press release, the consignment will be handed over to the Prime Minister of Madagascar Christian Ntsay by Ambassador Abhay Kumar in an official ceremony on March 23.

INS Jalashwa had reached the port of Antsiranana, Madagascar on March 12 with an Indian Naval training team that has been deployed in Madagascar for capacity building and training of the Malagasy Special Forces for two weeks.

After that, it reached the port of Moroni in Comoros on March 14 to deliver 1,000 metric tonnes of rice to Comoros.

On March 1, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a phone conversation with the Madagascar Foreign Minister Tehindrazanarivelo Djacoba AS Oliva, wherein they discussed Indian assistance to deal with the humtarian crisis in South of Madagascar due to severe drought

According to the release, the EAM recalled the excellent bilateral ties of friendship between India and Madagascar and that India has always been among the first responders when it comes to assisting the people of Madagascar in such humtarian crises.

India has always been a reliable partner of Madagascar in time of need. Last year, INS Shardul had visited the Port of Antsiranana with relief material comprising 600 tonnes of rice on behalf of India to deliver quick relief to the flood victims of Madagascar.

It was the biggest relief load ever carried by any Indian warship, loaded, transported and unloaded in record time, for quick relief assistance.The supplies of food assistance and support for capacity building to Madagascar is in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR and India's time-tested role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.

( With inputs from ANI )