First batch of Chinese COVID-19 assistance including 400 oxygen cylinders, 10 ventilators arrives in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, May 11: The first batch of COVID-19 assistance including 400 oxygen cylinders and 10 ventilators arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon.

A wide-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) along with more than 170 oxygen concentrators donated by Chinese company Hongshi Shivam Cement, according to Wang Xiaolong, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.

According to Dim Prakash Poudel, General Manager of Nepal Airlines Corporation, Tuesday’s flight brought in much needed medical equipment weighing 26 tons including 400 oxygen cylinders of 20,000 which Nepal’s northern neighbor agreed to provide among others.

In order to support Nepali people’s fight against the pandemic, and at the request of Nepali government, the Chinese government had announced to provide emergency assistance of medical supplies to Nepal.

A video conference of the foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, held earlier on April 27, discussed cooperation on fighting COVID-19, where all parties consolidated important consensus on cooperation against the pandemic. On the occasion, the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that China would provide a new batch of medical supplies to Nepal.