The government of Maldives donated one million cans of tuna to China on Tuesday night.
The donation was presented on behalf of the administration by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, and received by Ambassador of China to Maldives Zhang Lizhong, at a special ceremony held at the ministry.
Speaking to the press after the handover, Foreign Minister Shahid declared that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's decision to donate one million tuna cans to China amidst the outbreak and rapid escalation of the Novel Coronavirus, reflected a gesture of goodwill extended towards the people of China by Maldives.
"I assure you that the government and people of the Maldives stand firmly with the government and people of China, in their efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak", he stated.
The foreign minister acknowledged and conveyed appreciation towards the assistance and assurances extended by the Chinese government to the Maldivians currently residing in the country.
Ambassador Lizhong thanked the president, government and people of Maldives for the donation and strong support extended towards China.
He expressed confidence that Chinese authorities had the capability to combat the virus at an early date, adding that China would work closely with the international community to overcome the challenge.
Following the first reports of the Novel Coronavirus from Wuhan City in Hubei Province, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, in December 2019, there have been 427 fatalities while the number of confirmed infections currently tops 20,600.
As preventive measures against the novel coronavirus, Maldives has strengthened border control and restricted entry to all persons travelling from or transits at China, apart from locals.
Although one suspected case was formerly quarantined at the isolation facility in Fonadhoo, he was released after the test results came back negative.
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