New Delhi, May 14 (IANS): In accordance with instructions from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and guided by the principles of strategic partnership between the two states, the Kazakhstan government has provided humanitarian assistance to India during this serious epidemiological situation of Covid-19.

The first of the two Kazakh aircraft with the cargo landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi in the morning on May 14 with the second one expected to arrive several hours later.

This humanitarian aid, weighing around 40 tons, includes medical masks, respirators, protective suits and portable artificial lung ventilation devices from Kazakh manufacturers in the healthcare sector.

This aid was officially handed over at the airport by Ambassador of Kazakhstan to India Nurlan Zhalgasbayev to Director, Eurasian Department of the Ministry of External Affairs, Bandaru Wilsonbabu.

On May 4, President Tokayev, in a telegram to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed "deep solidarity with the Indian nation over the devastating Covid-19 surge in this country", and on May 7, instructed his government to provide and dispatch the necessary assistance to the Indian authorities. In 2020, India had sent hydroxychloroquine tablets to help Kazakhstan fight the pandemic.