Paraguay receives Turkish coronavirus aid

ANKARA

Medical supplies donated by Turkey to Paraguay arrived Tuesday in the Latin American nation, Paraguay's Health Ministry announced.

The donation valued at $1.4 million includes 100,000 medical/surgical masks, nearly 30,000 N95 masks, 50,000 protective overalls, nearly 2,000 protective glasses, 50,000 shoe covers and 50,000 gloves.

The aid was accepted through a cooperation agreement signed on May 6 in Ankara between the two countries, at the request of Paraguay.

"More than 281,000 medical supplies were donated by the Government of Turkey to fight Covid-19. Special thanks to the First Lady, @EmineErdogan, for their generous show of support and affection towards our country," Paraguay's first lady Silvana Abdo said on Twitter.

As the curve for the COVID-19 pandemic flattens or falls in many parts of the world, the virus continues to spread across the Latin American region.

Paraguay has 1,392 confirmed cases and 13 deaths, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University. It has recorded 903 recoveries.

Paraguay, Turkey relations

Despite the ocean between them, Turkey and Paraguay recently tapped into their shared economic potential and are now keen to make up for lost time.

After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez in December 2018, the two leaders developed a close friendship and decided to open embassies in Ankara and Asuncion.

Bilateral ties have already been enhanced by various agreements between the two nations' trade associations and NGOs and the trade volume is expected to exceed USD half a billion very soon.