Foreign Ministry says the delayed shipment of medicines from India will arrive in Maldives on Thursday.

The shipment was delayed after India announced a nationwide lockdown of 21 days to quell the massive outbreak of Covid-19 there.

Foreign Ministry said Maldives National Defense Force MNDF is collaborating with Indian Defense officials to securely transport this shipment to Maldives.

The Ministry said Indian Air Force planes would assemble 8 tons of medicine from Indian cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Madhurai to one place tomorrow and an India Air Force Air Craft will transport the shipment to Maldives on Thursday.

State Trading Organization STO said that this shipment was ordered before the Covid-19 crisis and is unrelated to the crisis.

Although India has offered assistance to Maldives in this regard, India has stopped the export of medicine as part of its lockdown.