India's COVID-19 food aid reaches Djibouti

India's food aid of 50 MT to deal with the COVID-19 crisis has reached Djibouti as part of Mission Sagar 2 which is focused on New Delhi's outreach to African countries. The aid that arrived on INS Airavat was received by Djibouti's Secretary-General of Ministry of Social Affairs Ifrah Ali Ahmed, in the presence of Indian envoy Ashok Kumar.

Ministry of External Affairs said, "In keeping with India’s tradition of reaching out to people of Africa in times of need, the government of India has decided to provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Eritrea. This is in the form of food aid of 270 MT to people affected by natural calamities and the Covid pandemic in these countries."

The aid, which consists of wheat flour, rice, and sugar has already been given to Sudan and Eritrea, and the next stop will be Mombasa, Kenya, which was meant for South Sudan. 100 MT of food aid was given to Sudan, 50 MT to Eritrea, and 70 MT of food aid will be given to South Sudan.

Under Mission Sagar 1, India had reached out to 5 Indian ocean countries-- Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.  The outreach is part of India's SAGAR --Security and Growth for All in the Region policy and shows how the Indian Navy is the first responder in the maritime domain in the Indian ocean region.