The Iranian foreign minister has stressed the importance of international cooperation on the response to the coronavirus pandemic, thanking Indian Parsis for sending aid to Iran, and saying that Tehran has sent 40,000 COVID-19 test kits to several countries.
“The Parsis of India—Zoroastrians whose ancestors long ago emigrated to India—have remained ever faithful in their love for Iran. Grateful for their Covid-19 package for Iranians,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Friday.
Up to 69,000 Parsis, who are Zoroastrians of Iranian origin, currently live in India.
Zarif also said that 40,000 “advanced Iran-made test kits” have been exported to Germany, Turkey and other countries.
“[We are] in this together,” he added.
The export of Iranian diagnosis kits comes after Tehran announced last week that it had permitted the export of test kits after a reported surge in their production.
Speaking about the export of diagnosis kits last week, Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Sattari said that Iran is currently producing many products needed to combat COVID-19 which it could not produce before.
Iran has become needless of importing most medical products related to the coronavirus, he said.
Facing widespread US sanctions, Iran stepped up indigenous efforts to develop necessary medical equipment following the COVID-19 outbreak, quickly developing mass production lines for medical supplies such as ventilators, test kits, masks and disinfectants.
According to the latest numbers released by Iran’s Health Ministry on Friday, 104,691 Iranians have contracted the disease, with 6,541 deaths. 83,837 people have also recovered.
Source: Iranian Agencies
