Two days after he proposed that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part at a video conference of all SAARC member countries at 5 pm on Sunday to fight Covid-19 in the region.
“Timely action for a healthier planet. Tomorrow at 5 PM, leaders of SAARC nations will discuss, via conferencing, a roadmap to fight the challenge of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. I am confident that our coming together will lead to effective outcomes and benefit our citizens,” PM Modi tweeted.
Timely action for a healthier planet.
Tomorrow at 5 PM, leaders of SAARC nations will discuss, via conferencing, a roadmap to fight the challenge of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus.
I am confident that our coming together will lead to effective outcomes and benefit our citizens.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 14, 2020
Leaders of all other SAARC countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — are expected to participate.
Prime Minister had on Friday said that the SAARC countries can lead the way in the fight against the deadly virus and set an example for the world.
“I would like to propose that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight coronavirus. We could discuss, via video conferencing, ways to keep our citizens healthy. Together, we can set an example to the world, and contribute to a healthier planet,” he had said.
I would like to propose that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight Coronavirus.
We could discuss, via video conferencing, ways to keep our citizens healthy.
Together, we can set an example to the world, and contribute to a healthier planet.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 13, 2020
The move was welcomed by leaders of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and also by the Afghan government.
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Pakistan also gave a positive response with the spokesperson of its Foreign Ministry stating in a tweet that threat of Covid-19 requires coordinated efforts at the global and regional level.
“We have communicated that SAPM on Health will be available to participate in the video conference of #SAARC member countries on the issue,” the spokesperson had said.
The WHO has declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Globally, over 126,258 confirmed cases have been reported among which over 5,000 people have succumbed to the virus.