Bhutan has pledged USD 100,000 contribution to the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which was proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an initial offer of USD 10 million to help combat the coronavirus pandemic in the region.

Noting the urgent need for collective efforts to combat the coronavirus crisis in South Asia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said the Bhutan government reassured its full support and cooperation to do everything possible in close collaboration with all SAARC nations to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian media reported. 

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi's announcement of creation of the emergency fund, the ministry said the Bhutan government "has decided to make an initial contribution of USD 100,000".

In a video conference on forming a joint strategy to fight COVID-19 in the SAARC region, Prime Minister Modi on March 15 proposed the 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 statement said the video conference initiated by PM Modi "created a platform for the leaders to share experiences on combatting the pandemic in respective countries and chart out collective strategy to combat the threat of COVID-19".

Founded in 1985, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation and geopolitical union of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Apart from Modi, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister Oli, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza, participated in the conference.