India sent critical items to help Singapore alleviate its Covid-19 pandemic situation in 2020, a Singaporean diplomat in India pointed out in a LinkedIn post.

Singapore "returning the favour"

Wu Po Cheng, who is the First Secretary (Political) in New Delhi, shared an article by Hindustan Times -- one of the largest English-language dailies in the country -- that lauded Singapore for being a "comprehensive partner" to India as a logistics hub.

It raised the examples of the city-state, which it pointed out was the size of a Delhi suburb, sending oxygen cryogenic tanks and cylinders to "bridge the oxygen shortfall in the country".

The Island nation has truly played the role of a comprehensive partner of India by acting as a logistics hub for supplying #oxygen cryogenic tanks and cylinders to bridge the oxygen shortfall in the country.

(report by Shishir Gupta)https://t.co/e98ewIBw2A

— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) May 14, 2021

Wu highlighted a fact that's little known to others, which was that India sent supplies, such as hydroxy-chloroquine, surgical masks and polypropylene material, to Singapore last year while the island was fighting the Covid-19 outbreak.

He further said that although Singapore is "smaller than Delhi's suburb", it doesn't "forget" the goodwill extended from other countries, and is "returning the favour by playing an essential role in helping India in its current crisis".

His post has garnered more than 9,700 positive reactions and around 380 comments on LinkedIn.

India's Covid diplomacy

India has sent medical supplies to at least 123 countries last year, including the U.S., Germany, South Africa, Kuwait and Jordan, the Indian Ambassador to Nepal said, according to Indian media Asian News International.

The global pharmaceutical powerhouse is also known for its vaccine diplomacy as it is able to produce its own vaccines and extend aid to other countries, especially those where China is also vying for influence.

But according to the BBC, India is experiencing a shortage of vaccines to administer within its borders.

Despite not having an amount that's close to the required supply, which is more than 1.8 billion doses, the government has offered jabs for some 960 million eligible Indians.

Critics say the federal government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed global ambitions above the needs of his own people, exporting more doses than were administered within the country by March.

India has been experiencing a surge in new Covid-19 cases -- as many as 400,000 each day -- with more than 4,000 deaths daily, Reuters reported.

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Top image via Wu Po Cheng/LinkedIn & Hindustan Times