PM Narendra Modi proposes SAARC fund to combat coronavirus outbreak

Modi suggested SAARC member nations should set up an emergency fund to combat COVID-19, and offered $10 million as India's initial contribution

Sharing details of India’s preparedness to prevent and contain the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told leaders of SAARC member countries that India recognised it was “still in an unknown situation” and “cannot predict how the situation will unfold”.
 
At a teleconference between the leaders of SAARC member nations on Sunday evening, called at Modi’s initiative, suggested greater cooperation within the grouping, including sharing of experiences and best practices by their respective health experts.
 
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his Maldivian counterpart Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and Bhutanese PM Lotay Tshering, all three