The Prime Minister called for emergency funds amid the pandemic
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting in the form of videoconferencing on March 15 to discuss the coronavirus pandemic. He suggested that the SAARC nations should establish an emergency fund and as part of India’s contribution for the fund, Mr. Modi extended $10 million. The Indian delegation also expressed concern over the outbreak and that they are uncertain about what the future looks like, if and when the pandemic spreads. Mr. Modi also urged all the member nations to work together in order to fight this global health crisis. He also suggested that the Foreign Secretary of India Harsh Vardhan Shringla and his counterparts from other SAARC nations to hold a meeting in order to discuss further actions.
Apart from Prime Minister Modi, the meeting was attended by the heads of other SAARC nations including Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant on Health to Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli and President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa .
