SAARC nations on Sunday vowed to jointly combat Coronavirus as Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed an emergency fund with an initial offer of $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 the 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, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health, Zafar Mirza, participated in the video conference. Modi said India's guiding mantra to deal with the virus was "prepare, but don't panic". "We were careful to not underestimate the problem, but also to avoid knee-jerk reactions," he said. In a significant message, 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". Modi said it was important to focus on collaboration, not confusion, and preparation, not panic. Prime Minister Modi made a series of suggestions which were hailed by the SAARC leaders and representatives.