The ministry said in a statement today that Bangladesh had given permission for the mission called, “Food Flotilla for Myanmar”, to dock at the port of Teknaf to drop off food and medicines for the refugees living around the port.

It was reported earlier that Bangladesh had denied access to the mission.

The Foreign Ministry said the Bangladesh approval was received following a meeting between Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Shahidul Islam.

“The matter has now been resolved as a result of the good relations between Malaysia and Bangladesh,” the ministry said in the statement.

The flotilla, carrying 2,200 tonnes of food and medicines, left Port Klang yesterday for Yangon to unload supplies for the Rohingya in Myanmar and then proceed to Teknaf.

The mission was organised by the Putera 1Malaysia Club and Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (MAPIM) with the Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi (TDV) Foundation of Turkey.

The flotilla was flagged off by Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday and had been expected to arrive in Yangon on Feb 7 or 8.

Some 230 volunteers from 13 countries, among them medical teams, teaching staff, local and international media and representatives of local and foreign NGOs, are in the mission.