Maldivian President calls Bangladeshi PM, expresses gratitude

Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Wednesday, called Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to express his gratitude, after the Bangladeshi government assisted in the evacuation of 71 medical students stranded overseas, and supplied Maldives with 100 metric tonnes of aid.

The 100 metric tonnes of commodities, medicine and protective equipment were handed over to Maldives by the Bangladeshi Navy this morning. It includes 20,000 PPE sets, 960 eye protection goggles, and 5,000 pieces of hand sanitizer.

It followed a Bangladeshi Air Force aircraft which arrives in Maldives on Monday carrying 71 medical students stranded in Bangladesh and Nepal, and a team of 10 Bangladeshi medical professionals to aid in the combat against the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Maldives.

President Solih announced in a tweet this afternoon that he had thanked PM Hasina to thank her, her government, and the people of Bangladesh for their generous assistance.

Both Solih and Hasina discussed COVID-19 emergency response efforts in their respective countries.

COVID-19 in the Maldivian capital Male’ has now risen to 66. The cases include 24 Bangladeshi workers. Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has provided assurance Maldives will not discriminate between Maldivians and Bangladeshis, or patients of any other nationality in treating virus patients.