Bangladesh seeks Chinese COVID-19 expert medical team

Bangladesh has urged China to send an expert medical team comprising doctors, nurses and technicians to handle and treat COVID-19 patients here as well as provide training to Bangladeshi medical professionals, state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency reports.

The request was made during a telephone conversation between foreign minister Dr A K Abdul Momen and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Tuesday, a foreign office press release said here today.

During the 45-minute telephone conversation, Momen told his Chinese counterpart that the possibility of bringing an expert team of technicians from China to support ‘Sheikh Russel Gastro-liver Institute and Hospital’ which has been declared a dedicated facility in Dhaka for coronavirus treatment.

He also discussed the possibility of importing ventilation machines from China during this critical moment of the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh.

Momen also requested the Chinese foreign minister to consider deferral of payments against all Back-to-Back Letter-of-Credits (LC) opened in favour of Chinese suppliers for one year.

The Chinese foreign minister responded positively and assured him of their full support to Bangladesh.

While recalling the cordial meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Chinese Xi, Momen requested his counterpart to help early repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar as promised.

Wang Yi felt the urgency of early repatriation and assured to extend Chinese support to that end.

The Chinese foreign minister expressed gratitude and thanks to the Bangladesh government for its ‘valued contribution’ of masks, hand sanitizers, hand gloves during the critical moments of coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan city and other parts of China.

In exchange, Momen too expressed gratitude to the Chinese government as well as ‘Jack Ma Foundation’ and ‘Alibaba Foundation’ for their contribution of coronavirus testing kits, personal protection equipment (PPE) and infrared thermometer.

He also thanked the Chinese government for taking utmost care of Bangladeshi students in Wuhan and other parts of China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

He expressed Bangladesh’s solidarity with the China government for observing the 4th April as the national mourning day in China on the memories of COVID-19 victims there.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy here today coordinated a video conference between Shanghai’s Anti-COVID-19 clinical expert team leader Professor Zhang Wenhong with Bangladeshi doctors and health officials.

The Chinese expert shared his experiences and answered Bangladeshi doctors’ questions about the deadly virus over the videoconference that was also joined by Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque.

Kamruzzaman