Modi Proposes Coronavirus Fund, Offers $10m

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a Coronavirus Emergency Fund for SAARC member nations and has made an initial bid of $10 million on behalf of his country to contribute to the Fund.

“Our embassies can coordinate the utilization of this fund,” Modi said on Sunday.

India can also organize training capsules for health workers ' preparation, Modi told to SAARC members.

Modi led a discussion that started via videoconferencing at 5:30 pm Dhaka time on Sunday and said: “We cannot predict the situation which is why it is most valuable to share each other's perspective.”

Prime Minister Sheik Hasina joined Modi and other members of the SAARC nations to explore ways out of the coronavirus crisis of epidemic spread through South Asia like the rest of the world.

“I hope this conference will show a new path to all of us in tackling the coronavirus,” Hasina said in her speech via videoconferencing.

She also said that health ministers and secretaries can also organize a related conference to address the technicalities of coronavirus response.

In her brief speech, Hasina announced that only five cases have been imported from Bangladesh, but no local cases.

The others who joined the talks include Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani. Zafar Mirza, special assistant on health to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, represented their country.