Coronavirus scare: We believe in cooperation, says Afghan envoy
Afghan envoy to India Tahir Qadiry
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this week, called for cooperation between all SAARC countries to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Under this, he also proposed the creation of an emergency fund, to which, India has made an initial contribution of $10 million.
Afghanistan on Saturday said it would contribute $1 million to the fund announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Afghan envoy to India, Tahir Qadiry, in an exclusive conversation with Wion’s diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal said Kabul believes in joint collaboration — India will provide wheat consignment of 75,000 tonnes to Afghanistan in case food shortage arises amid the global coronavirus scare.
Excerpts from the interview:
Sidhant Sibal: How do you see PM Modi's SAARC conference meet and the measures taken by the Afghan government to stem the growth of the virus?
Tahir Qadiry: We have decided to contribute $1 million to the fund. The Afghan government has been taking aggressive measures to brace itself for the worst-case scenario. There have been awareness programmes. Our deputy foreign minister of cooperation for AfghanistanMirwais Nab recently met Indian ambassador Vinay Kumar to discuss the transfer of 75,000 tonnes of wheat, aid and donation from India to Afghanistan to fight shortage of food in case it arises.
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Sidhant Sibal: How are you reaching out to the Afghans stranded in India?
Tahir Qadiry: There are some restrictions in place and we are well aware of them. We can just advise to follow guidelines, and rest assured…We are doing everything we can.
PM Modi had earlier lauded Bhutan and Nepal for their contributions to the SAARC Emergency Response Fund for COVID-19 proposed by him earlier this week.
As of Saturday morning, India has reported over 270 cases of coronavirus, with 22 patients having been discharged. The death toll from the virus is at 4.