Indian expats, mission thank UAE for standing by India during COVID-19 crisis

Dubai: The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Indian expats in the UAE have thanked the UAE for expressing solidarity with India which is battling the worst COVID-19 crisis with the highest number of cases and a shortage of hospital beds and oxygen supply.

On Sunday night, Burj Khalifa and other UAE landmarks were lit in the colours of the Indian flag and carried the message “Stay Strong India” to show solidarity with India in the war against COVID-19.

While the Dubai Media office tweeted the video of the tricolour display on the world’s tallest tower, the Abu Dhabi Media Office tweeted images of the Indian national flag from multiple landmarks in the emirate with the same message written in English, Arabic and Hindi.

The Indian missions in the UAE retweeted those messages and expressed India’s gratitude towards the UAE’s solidarity in the challenging times.

“We thank our friend #UAE for standing by us in these testing times,” the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted with the hashtag #IndiaUAEDosti and a handshaking emoji placed in between the flags of both the nations.

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor expressed his country’s appreciation for the UAE’s strong support.

“India appreciates the UAE’s strong support to its close friend in difficult times,” he said in a tweet and tagged the UAE’s foreign ministry and the UAE Embassy in India.

Several Indians took to Twitter to echo the sentiments using the hashtag posted by the mission.

Indian expat Imran’s tweet said: “Thank you UAE for everything you do for us.”

Images of UAE landmarks adorned with their country’s flag were widely shared on social media by Indians in the UAE and across the world while the Indian media widely covered the news.

Balagopal.G, a chartered accountant in Dubai, said: “As an expat here, it feels great to see the camaraderie between the two countries. We will always be indebted to the UAE for this gesture during one of the worst health crises in India.”

Minister’s appreciation

Meanwhile, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in a tweet appreciated a call from Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

“Appreciated the call yesterday from HH Sheikh @ABZayed , FM of UAE expressing his solidarity with India. As always, deeply value good wishes and international cooperation,” his tweet said.

Sheikh Abdullah had reiterated the UAE’s full support for and solidarity with India and expressed the UAE’s keenness to dedicate all resources in support of the efforts currently undertaken by the government of India to fight COVID-19.

He added that the leadership, government and people of the UAE are in full solidarity with India.