The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said “very fast” movement was being made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposals — put forward during a video-conference on coronavirus attended by leaders and representatives of SAARC nations — with the emergency fund to combat the pandemic in the region already operationalised. SAARC nations on Sunday vowed to jointly combat coronavirus as Modi proposed an emergency fund with an initial offer of $10 million from India. The Prime Minister had made a series of suggestions that were hailed by the SAARC leaders and representatives. On Thursday, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “We are moving very fast on most of those proposals and announcements. On the emergency fund, it is already up and running. We have received many requests from other SAARC countries for assistance in the form of masks, shoe covers, gloves, disinfectants and other items. He said that in line with the Prime Minister’s proposal of sharing of best practices, a video-conference was being scheduled in the next few days of health professionals of SAARC countries.
