New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS): The government on Sunday evacuated seven Maldivians along with 323 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus epidemic that has left over 300 people dead in China and 14,000 infected.

In a tweet, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that seven Maldivians were brought back along with Indian nationals because India cared for its neighbourhood.

He tweeted, "#NeighbourhoodFirst at work again" tagging Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, former President Mohamed Nasheed and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. One of the tenets of the Modi foreign policy doctrine has been 'Neighbourhood First'.

While the US and several other countries are evacuating their own citizens, Pakistan has decided to leave its nationals stranded in Wuhan. India has however decided to help its allies who are unable to evacuate their citizens in the region.

On Sunday, the second Air India flight brought back from China, Indian and Maldivian nationals who are required to undergo quarantine.