A Bangladesh Navy ship is starting today for the Maldives, carrying more than 100 metric tons of food, medicine and medical equipment as assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As per the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with Bangladesh High Commission in Male is facilitating dispatch and delivery of the materials to the island nation, said a foreign ministry statement.

Bangladesh Navy, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Directorate General of Drug Administration as well as some Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies have worked together to gather the assistance materials for Maldives.

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, it said.

Bangladesh has also pledged US$1.5 million to the Covid-19 Regional Fund proposed by India during the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) leaders' video conference held on March 15.

The Maldives is home to some one lakh Bangladeshis.