A day after threatening retaliation against India if the country did not allow supply of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), US President Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him helpful after the nation lifted the ban on export of the anti-malarial drug.
“I spoke to PM Modi, a lot of it comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it? He was Great. He was really good. You know they put a stop because they wanted it for India. But there is a lot of good things coming from that," said Trump in an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News.
The Indian government decided to lift the partial ban on hydroxychloroquine, used to treat COVID-19 patients, after Trump threatened India of retaliation if it didn't allow supply to the US, the most affected country.
The government said that it will not ban but restrict the export of hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol depending on the availability of stock after meeting domestic requirements.
"After having confirmed the availability of medicines for all possible contingencies currently envisaged, these restrictions have been largely lifted," said Anurag Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.
"With regard to paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), they will be kept in a licensed category and their demand position would be continuously monitored. However, the stock position could allow our companies to meet the export commitments that they had contracted," the MEA Secretary added.
India is a major producer of hydroxychloroquine, which has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for COVID-19. It is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York, as mentioned in a PTI report.
Based on the initial results, Trump has anticipated that it will work and has bought more than 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for potential treatment of COVID-19 patients. "I bought millions of doses (of hydroxychloroquine). More than 29 million."
