Kathmandu, May 20 (RSS). The Government of Spain has provided support of medical equipment and supplies to help Nepal fight the second wave of COVID-19. Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) Magdy Marinez Soliman handed over the materials to Minister for Health and Population Hridayesh Tripathi at a brief ceremony held at the Tribhuvan International Airport today.

In a meeting that ensued, Minister for Health and Population Tripathi thanked the Spanish Government for the generous support of life-saving materials, which would help address the crisis caused by the surge of COVID-19 cases. Ambassador of Nepal to Spain Dawa Futi Sherpa and senior officials of the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present on the occasion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Later this afternoon, the Spanish delegation called on Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and exchanged views on bilateral relations, international cooperation and post-pandemic economic recovery, among others. Foreign Secretary Paudyal stated that Spain’s timely support reflects the profound Nepal-Spain friendship. Director Soliman, conveying Spain’s solidarity to Nepal’s fight against the pandemic, hoped that the support would be helpful for treatment of the affected people.

The support received today is in response to the request of the Government of Nepal to the Spanish Government, communicated both bilaterally and through the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, for supporting Nepal with vaccines, medicines, equipment and supplies related to COVID-19.

The items arrived in a chartered flight sent by the Government of Spain include 144,000 sets of rapid antigen test kit, 10 units of oxygen concentrator, 144,000 units of FFP2 mask, 50 units of oxygen cylinder and 15 sets of ventilator.