Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, thanking India after the government allowed the United States to buy 29 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug believed effective in the treatment of Covid- 19.

Donald Trump in a tweet said that “Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. He said Thanks to India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. He will not be forgotten! Thank you Prime Minister @Narendra Modi for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight!

On Wednesday Trump told to the press “We will remember it. He wants to thank Prime Minister Modi of India for allowing us to have what we requested for the problem arose and he was terrific”. Amid rising pressure and requests for the key drug from over 30 countries, led by the United States, the government on Tuesday said it will allow limited exports of the key drug to “nations that have been badly affected” by the pandemic.

The US recorded nearly 2,000 novel Covid- 19 deaths for a second day in a row, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The record-breaking figure of 1,973 deaths (slightly higher than the previous day’s toll of 1,939) brings the total number of US fatalities to 14,695.

Mr Trump has been widely criticised for initially downplaying the virus, which he likened to an ordinary flu and said was under control in the United States, before later accepting that it was a national emergency.