Food Flotilla Mission Not Allowed to Teknaf Due To Port Conditions – Foreign Ministry

Malaysian volunteers unload aid for Rohingya Muslims in Thilawa port, Yangon.

Kuala Lumpur, 12 Jumadil Awwal 1438/09 February 2017 (MINA) – The decision by the Bangladesh Government to not allow the ‘Food Flotilla for Myanmar’ mission to dock in Teknaf was because of the port conditions, Bernama reported.

In a statement issued here Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said the Bangladesh Government’s action was based on the fact that the Teknaf Port was shallow, with a depth of only three metres while the ship needed a depth of at least eight metres to move without hindrance to the port.

“After visiting all the ports suggested by the Bangladesh government, the advance team from the Kelab Putra 1 Malaysia (KP1M) had decided that the best option is the Chittagong Port,” the statement said.

It added that KP1M had been working closely with the Bangladesh authorities through the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka before the mission started to find the best way to distribute the humanitarian aid which was badly needed by the Rohingya refugees near Teknaf.

It added that the government was optimistic that all technical issues would be resolved as quickly as possible as there was very good bilateral ties between the two countries. (T/RS05/RS01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)