Dhaka, 15 April 2020: 

A Bangladesh Navy ship is set to sail today for the Maldives carrying more than 100 metric tons of food, medicines and medical equipment as assistance from the Government of Bangladesh for the Government of the Republic of Maldives.

As per the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with the Bangladesh High Commission in Male is facilitating dispatch and delivery of the materials to the Maldives in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic cases being detected in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Bangladesh Navy, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Directorate General of Drug Administration, relevant District Administration, and other concerned authorities of the Government as well as some Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies have worked together to gather the assistance materials for Maldives in very short time, in the backdrop of a challenging phase that Bangladesh itself is passing currently.

The Bangladesh Foreign Minister is in touch with his Maldivian counterpart and has reiterated Bangladesh’s solidarity with the Maldives in facing the threat of COVID-19 together. Bangladesh has also pledged US$ 1.5 million to the COVID-19 Regional Fund proposed by India during the SAARC Leaders’ video conference held on 15 March 2020.