India has agreed to send hydroxychloroquine tablets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to be used for treating COVID-19 patients, the Gulf Arab state's embassy in New Delhi said.

India last month put a ban on exports as sales soared to secure supplies for itself as U.S. President Donald Trump touted the drug as a potential effective treatment for the deadly virus. It said this month it would send supplies to some countries.

“The first shipment of medicine, currently on its way to the UAE, includes 5.5 million pills for treatment of patients with COVID-19,” the embassy tweeted late on Saturday.