Maldives thanks India for evacuating its seven citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday thanked India for expeditiously evacuating seven Maldivians from Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, saying it was an example of the "outstanding" friendship and camaraderie between the two countries.

India has evacuated 647 Indians and seven Maldivian citizens by special flights from Wuhan city. Air India's jumbo B747 made two flights to Wuhan - the ground zero of the coronavirus epidemic. In the first flight on Saturday, 324 Indians were evacuated and on Sunday another 323 Indians and seven Maldivian citizens were flown back.

Expressing his gratitude to India, President Solih tweeted, "My thanks and gratitude to PM @narendramodi, EM @DrSJaishankar and the Government of India for expeditiously evacuating the 7 Maldivians residing in Wuhan, China. This gesture is a fine example of the outstanding friendship and camaraderie between our two countries."
The Indian Embassy in Maldives tweeted that the action "reflects historic ties of kinship between us, &, synergy between #NeighbourhoodFirst & #IndiaFirst policies."