Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has reiterated that the Maldivian government’s commitment to provide maximum healthcare support to all Covid-19 patients, "without discrimination”.

The minister said this in statement issued on Saturday, thanking the Bangladeshi government for the aid provided to support Maldives’ Covid-19 response efforts.

A Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) flight arrived in the Maldives on Saturday, carrying 7,000 kg of food and medical equipment and medicine for the Maldivian people.

The foreign minister thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladeshi government and the people, on behalf of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the people of Maldives.

Describing it as a “gesture of goodwill and generosity”, Shahid said that it “is a manifest reflection of the close friendship and the significant historic bonds” between Maldives and Bangladesh.

While there have been a hike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the island national following the detection of a community transmission on April 15, 51.67 percent of the confirmed cases are Bangladeshi nationals.

Highlighting that “a large number of the affected have been the expatriate population”, the foreign minister reiterated the government’s “full commitment and support to provide maximum healthcare to all those in need, without discrimination”.

He added that migrant workers living in congested places have been identified and that arrangements have been made “to move them to safe accommodation facilities” as part of the efforts to curb the spread of the virus among those people.

Shahid added that he is confident that the “close bonds between the two countries and peoples of Maldives and Bangladesh will strengthen further in the years ahead” and expressed hope to find further avenues to help each other and overcome this global pandemic soon.

While the BAF flight arrived with essentials to the Maldivian people, it will depart on Sunday with 70 undocumented Bangladeshis. 353 were repatriated on Saturday as well, via a Biman Bangladesh Airline charted by the Maldivian government.

The Bangladeshi government has provided various assistance to the Maldives' Covid-19 response efforts, in addition to supplying essentials such as medical equipment and food.

As such, they recently provided assistance in repatriating Maldivians in Bangladesh and Nepal through a special military aircraft. Bangladesh has also sent an experienced medical team to the country.