Nepal pledges nearly USD 1 mn to SAARC Corona Emergency Fund

Nepal on Friday pledged nearly USD one million contribution to the SAARC Corona Emergency Fund, which was proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an initial offer of USD 10 million to help combat the viral pandemic in the region.

In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister K P Oli thanked India and China for providing cooperation to Nepal to fight the deadly coronavirus infection.

Within days of Modi's announcement of creation of the emergency fund, India has supplied medical supplies, testing equipment and sanitisers among other items to Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Pledging 100 million Nepalese Rupee (USD 8,35,657) contribution to the SAARC Corona Emergency Fund, Oli in his speech urged citizens to remain calm and maintain patience as he assured his government's full support in fighting the disease.

He also ensured smooth supply of essential commodities to the citizens in the wake of the global pandemic.

Nepal has so far reported only one confirmed case of coronavirus and the patient has already been treated.

In a video conference on forming a joint strategy to fight COVID-19 in the SAARC region, Prime Minister Modi on March 15 proposed the SAARC Corona Emergency Fund with an initial offer of USD 10 million from India and asserted that the best way to deal with the pandemic was by coming together, and not growing apart.

Apart from Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza, participated in the conference.