Govt promises all-out support for foreigners in Bangladesh

The government has reassured diplomats stationed in Dhaka that it will provide all necessary support to foreign nationals living in Bangladesh to deal with coronavirus.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen gave the assurance when heads of missions of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and North Korea met him at his office on Wednesday.

The Foreign Minister inquired about health and safety issues of nationals from their respective countries in Bangladesh and assured of all required supports.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will keep contact with all foreign missions here through its hotline during the government declared holidays as part of maintaining social distancing to contain the outbreak of COVID-19.

The envoys expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the government, the Foreign Ministry said.

Meanwhile, India provided 30,000 surgical masks and 15,000 head-covers as assistance to Bangladesh. Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das handed over the assistance to Momen.

The assistance is intended to support Bangladesh's efforts to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

As part of India's "Neighborhood First" policy and with a view to taking a collaborative regional approach to containing the spread of COVID-19, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with leaders of other SAARC countries held a video conference on March 15.

This tranche of assistance is an initial emergency supply under the COVID-19 Emergency Fund announced by Modi and setup with an initial contribution of $10 million by India.

Following the announcement, various SAARC nations including Bangladesh contributed $ 1.5 million to the fund.