NEW DELHI — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands in solidarity with India in these difficult times to respond to the challenges posed by COVID 19, a statement from the Saudi Arabian Embassy here read.

“Health cooperation, protecting human life and building resilience against the pandemic have been important aspects of our outstanding ties.

“Building on decades of cooperation and friendship we continue to stand by our brothers and sisters in India and trust that they will emerge stronger out of this crisis,” the statement added.

The Saudi mission’s statement comes as India geared up to battle the second wave of COVID-19 that has swept across the nation and has strained the already stressed Indian health sector.

On April 26, the European Union, United Kingdom, and the United States joined the Kingdom in helping India battle a devastating surge of COVID-19 infections.

Taking a lead, Saudi Arabia shipped 80 metric tons of liquid oxygen to India on as the South Asian country was running low on supplies amid an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases.

The supply shipment was undertaken in cooperation with the Adani group and Linde company.

"Embassy of India is proud to partner with Adani group and M/s Linde in shipping much-needed 80MT liquid oxygen to India. Our heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Health Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all their help, support, and cooperation,” the Indian mission in Riyadh tweeted. — SG