NEW DELHI: In what could be said to be a proud moment for India, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday (January 23) thanked the Indian Prime Minister-led government in the country for the export of COVID-19 vaccines. Taking to Twitter, Bolsonaro tweeted an image of Hindu god Hanuman carrying the jabs from India to Brazil.
The Brazilian Prime Minister used the reference from the Hindu epic Ramayana, wherein Hanuman carries the life-saving 'Sanjeevni plant' to save Ram's brother Lakshman's life. "Namaskar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi! Brazil feels honoured to have a great partner to overcome a global obstacle by joining efforts. Thank you for assisting us with the vaccines exports from India to Brazil. Dhanyavaad!," Bolsonaro said in a tweet.
PM Narendra Modi replied on Twitter, saying the honour was India's in being a trusted partner of Brazil in fighting the pandemic together. "We will continue to strengthen our cooperation on healthcare," Prime Minister Modi wrote.
The honour is ours, President @jairbolsonaro to be a trusted partner of Brazil in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic together. We will continue to strengthen our cooperation on healthcare. https://t.co/0iHTO05PoM
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2021
Well, the Brazilian Prime Minister chose a unique way to extend his gratitude and it won hearts of Indian citizens. However, this isn't the first time Bolsonaro invoked religion to thank or make an appeal to India. In April last year, the President wrote a letter to Indian government seeking hydroxychloroquine or HCQ, a drug thought to be effective in the treatment of coronavirus, touted by then President Donald Trump, himself.
Bolsonaro had at the time invoked Hanuman carrying a 'holy medicine' in Ramayana, and referenced to Jesus Christ, as well.
India dispatched two million doses of Covishield vaccines to Brazil on Friday. Covishield has been developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and is being manufactured by Serum Institute of India. Brazil`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Embassy in New Delhi, had made arrangements with India and SII for the transportation of the COVID-19 vaccines, following up on a letter from President Jair Bolsonaro to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dated January 8.
