"Modi Was Great": Trump's Praise After "Retaliation' Threat Over Drug

The change in tone came after Mr Trump confirmed that the first shipment of 29 million doses of the drug was on its way from factories in Gujarat to the United States

New Delhi: 

Hours after warning India of "retaliation" if it did not agree to export hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug believed effective in treatment of the novel coronavirus, US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "great" and "really good".

The change in tone came after Mr Trump confirmed that the first shipment of a total of 29 million doses of the drug was on its way from three factories in Gujarat to the United States, which has reported four lakh cases and 13,000 deaths.

"I bought millions of doses... more than 29 million. I spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, a lot of it comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it. He was great. He was really good," Donald Trump told American channel Fox News.

Earlier on Monday, during a press briefing at the White House, Mr Trump said he would be "surprised if he (Prime Minister Modi) would" stand firm over his ban on the export of the drug. Mr Trump also suggested that the ban was not Prime Minister Modi's decision.

"I didn't hear it was his decision. I know that he stopped it for other countries (but) I spoke to him yesterday and we had a very good talk... I said we'd appreciate you allowing our supply to come out. If he doesn't allow it to come... there may be retaliation," Mr Trump said during a Sunday phone call with Prime Minister Modi.

Mr Trump's bulk purchase of the drug, which he called a "game-changer", is in anticipation of it being declared a viable treatment option; it is currently being tested on patients in New York.

India manufacturers around 70 per cent (approximately 20 crore tablets of 200 mg each) of the world's hydroxychloroquine supply. The medicine has been identified by the United States' Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for COVID-19 cases.

Last month the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research, the government's nodal body in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak) recommended its use for healthcare workers attending to patients.

News Source: NDTV