The Republic of Korea provided grant aid of USD 400,000 to the Ministry of Health today.
According to the Korean International Cooperation Agency in Bhutan (KOICA), the President of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in, had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr Lotay Tshering last month. During their conversation, President Moon had reaffirmed the Korean government’s commitment to support Bhutan in preventing and managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of the total grant, USD 200,000 was used to procure test kits which can conduct 17,250 tests. The other half of the grant will be used to support COVID-19 response measures.
The test kits were handed over by KOICA to the Ministry of Health this morning.
Based on experiences in Korea, KOICA said mass testing could support Bhutan in managing and preventing the spread of COVID-19 effectively.
The government of Bhutan has expressed its deepest gratitude to the Republic of Korea for the generous support to Bhutan. According to a press statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this contribution will reinforce Bhutan’s effort to effectively address challenges posed by the pandemic.
Tshering Dendup
