Swiss send aid to Covid-hit Thailand ahead of minister’s visit
Switzerland has sent around CHF9 million ($9.8 million) worth of anti-Covid-19 equipment to Thailand, which is facing its worst wave yet of the pandemic.
The aid includes around 100 respirators and more than one million antigen tests, according to the Swiss foreign ministryExternal link. A cargo plane left Zurich airport on Wednesday bound for Bangkok, with 26 tonnes of medical supplies from the stocks of the army pharmacy and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
The shipment by Swiss Humanitarian Aid will be received by the Thai authorities, said the ministry, adding that “the Swiss embassy in Thailand is in close contact with the authorities to ensure that items are distributed fairly based on need, in accordance with humanitarian principles”.
It said foreign minister Ignazio Cassis will be in Thailand at the same time, as part of an official tour of southeast Asia, and would take part in a ceremony on August 2 to hand over the equipment. Cassis is visiting southeast Asia from August 1 to 6.
This is the seventh delivery since May of Swiss humanitarian aid abroad to fight Covid-19. Switzerland has also sent aid to Indonesia, Tunisia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India.
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