New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called upon the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations to “remain more vigilant” amid the outbreak of novel coronavirus that has infected nearly 150 people in the region.
“As we all know, COVID-19 has recently been classified by the World Health Organisation as a pandemic. So far, our region has listed fewer than 150 cases. But we need to remain vigilant,” Prime Minister Modi said in a video conference with all SAARC member countries.
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“As we prepare to face this challenge, let me briefly share India’s experience of combating the spread of this virus so far. ‘Prepare, but don’t panic’ has been our guiding mantra,” he added.
PM Narendra Modi at video conference of all SAARC member countries,over #COVID19: Our people-to-people ties are ancient and our societies are deeply interconnected. Therefore, we must all prepare together, act together and succeed together. https://t.co/ySaSrpoR9K
— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2020
The Prime Minister began by thanking Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to join the conference immediately after being discharged from the hospital following a kidney transplant.
Sheikh Hasina,Prime Minister of Bangladesh at video conference of SAARC,over #COVID19: To continue this dialogue at technical level, our Health Ministers, Health Secretaries & health experts should also hold this kind of video conferences to discuss specific areas of cooperation. https://t.co/XsCpu2Rcjo pic.twitter.com/IuNIt6lzgF
— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2020
The Prime Minister had earlier proposed that the leaders of the SAARC countries should hold a discussion via video conference to chalk out a joint strategy to fight coronavirus. The proposal was welcomed and endorsed by all SAARC nations and the video conference was held for today. (ANI)