Modi proposes SAARC fund to tackle Coronavirus, stresses on joint efforts

Modi asserted that it was important for the SAARC member countries to work together and said the region can best respond to the coronavirus pandemic by "coming together, not growing apart"

SAARC nations on Sunday vowed to jointly combat coronavirus as Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed an 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.

The underlying message of the video conference was unitedly taking on the virus, but Pakistan used the occasion to raise Kashmir issue, calling for immediate lifting of the "lockdown" there to allow disease containment measures.

Apart from Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli,