India stands in 'solidarity' with Nepal: PM Modi discusses COVID-19 with PM Oli

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to his Nepal counterpart KP Sharma Oli and discussed the prevailing situation due to the COVID-19 crisis.

During the telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Modi appreciated the determination of the people of Nepal to fight the challenge.

"Spoke today with Prime Minister of Nepal, Shri @kpsharmaoli. We discussed the prevailing situation due to COVID-19. I appreciate the determination of people of Nepal to fight this challenge. We stand in solidarity with Nepal in our common fight against COVID-19," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday informed that India's total number of COVID-19 positive cases now stands at 6,412. Out of these, 5,709 are active patients and 503 of them have been cured/discharged.With 30 new deaths reported in the last 12 hours, the death toll has reached 199. Meanwhile, Nepal has reported nine coronavirus cases so far.

Last month, Prime Minister Modi and Oli interacted during a video conference of the SAARC nations.

PM Modi had proposed the creation of an emergency fund for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations to combat the coronavirus pandemic and pitched India's initial offer of USD 10 million for this fund.

Nepal had committed NPR 100 million to the SAARC emergency fund.

On March 20, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with his Nepali counterpart Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and discussed enhancing cooperation and measures to combat the threat posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Prime Minister Modi in the last few days has spoken to many world leaders including US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and discussed global cooperation to fight the coronavirus.

On March 24, the extraordinary virtual G20 Leaders' Summit was held to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to forge a globally coordinated response.

During which, Prime Minister Modi called upon the leaders to help usher in new globalization for the collective well-being of humankind and have multilateral fora focus on promoting the shared interests of humanity.