Bangladesh is soon expecting to receive coronavirus-related medical supplies pledged by the government of China and Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma, to fight the deadly virus that has already killed thousands of people across the globe.
“We are in touch with China. Even today, I spoke to the Chinese embassy and asked them to expedite the shipment of medical supplies,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.
“It is good if the medical supplies from China are sent to Bangladesh by chartered flights and efforts are on,” he said, adding: “We are expecting the supplies soon.”
About the assistance declared by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, co-founder of the Alibaba Group, the foreign minister said: “It’s great news. Hope those medical supplies will arrive soon.”
China recently announced that it would provide Bangladesh with emergency medical supplies, including a large number of testing kits to tackle coronavirus.
The medical supplies include 10,000 test kits, 15,000 medical N95 masks, 10,000 medical protective cloths, and 1,000 infrared thermometers.
Earlier, on Saturday, Jack Ma announced through a tweet that he would assist Bangladesh and some other countries by providing masks, test kits, protective suits, plus ventilators and thermometers.
A day earlier, the Chinese embassy in Dhaka communicated with the Economic Relations Division (ERD) under the Finance Ministry, informing that the Jack Ma Foundation and the Ali Baba Foundation would provide Bangladesh with 30,000 Novel Coronavirus testing reagents and 300,000 masks (including 30,000 N95 medical masks and 270,000 single-use surgical masks).
The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation will be responsible for the procurement and air transportation of the above mentioned medical supplies, said the letter that also asked the government to issue a letter of acceptance confirmation.
“Upon arrival of the donated medical supplies at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the donation accepting organization of Bangladesh will be responsible for customs clearance, delivery, transfer, transportation, storage, and completion of any relevant procedures needed for the donated medical supplies,” it said.
Contacted, ERD joint secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiky told this correspondent that acceptance confirmation has already been sent to the Chinese government.