india

Updated: Mar 12, 2020 22:04 IST

An Indian warship on Thursday delivered more than 600 tonnes of rice to Madagascar as part of relief for the victims of floods in the island country.

India’s envoy Abhay Kumar handed over the rice to Madagascar’s foreign minister Tehindrazanarivelo Djacoba Liva after INS Shardul arrived at Port Antsiranana on March 10.

The rice will be distributed among people affected by cyclone Diane that hit Madagascar’s coast in January, said an official statement.

On January 30, another Indian warship – INS Airavat – delivered relief materials to Madagascar. India was the first country to provide help following the devastation caused by cyclone Diane.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar said the rice brought to Madagascar in a warship was the fastest way the relief could be delivered to the Indian Ocean country.

This was the second delivery of relief materials for Madagascar’s flood victims and largest humanitarian aid so far from India. This was also the biggest load of relief materials ever carried by any Indian warship for quick assistance.

Liva described the assistance as historic and said it proved the “excellent relationship” between Madagascar and India. In his remarks in the visitors’ book of INS Shardul, he wrote, “Very happy to visit INS Shardul and meet its crew. Grateful to the Government and the people of India for their generous donation.”

He also thanked Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh in a tweet.

INS Shardul is 125-metre-long warship with a displacement of 5,600 tonnes. It has a crew of 320 officers and sailors.