SAARC emergency fund

• First videoconference of the heads of member countries of SAARC to discuss a common strategy to tackle COVID-19.

Details:

• Given the seriousness of the challenge posed by COVID-19 to the world and the uncertainty surrounding it, countries must work together to devise a common strategy and go ahead with a coordinated effort.
• Agreeing with the suggestion of the Indian PM, leaders of the SAARC region held the first-ever videoconference of the heads to discuss a common strategy to tackle COVID-19.
• The videoconference was also addressed by Bangladesh Prime Minister, Bhutan Prime Minister, Nepal Prime Minister, Maldives President, Sri Lankan President, Afghan President, and Special Assistant on Health to Pakistan’s Prime Minister.
• The regional leaders explained how they had taken measures to stop the spread of the virus.

Background:

• Set up in 1985, SAARC is the first such inter-country grouping for the South Asian region.
• SAARC has had no summit-level meeting since 2014. The meetings have been called off due to India-Pakistan tensions and India’s decision to not attend the summit in Islamabad on grounds of Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism.
• India had shifted focus to other regional groupings that do not include Pakistan to ensure co-operation among the neighbor.
• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) grouping, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) have received increased attention from India.

COVID-19 Emergency Fund:

• The Indian Prime Minister has called on the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to create a COVID19 Emergency Fund, based on voluntary contribution, to fight the threat of COVID-19.
• India has extended $10 million as its contribution to the proposed fund.

SAARC agency:

• Given the past precedent and the current crisis, the Bangladeshi PM pitched for an institution in the form of a SAARC agency to fight contagious diseases that pose a threat to public health in the region.
• Impact on economies:
• Addressing the impact of the pandemic on the region’s economy, Maldives President said the economy of the Maldives would be affected as the tourist flow from Italy, China and Europe had dried up.
• Bhutan Prime Minister also highlighted the economic impact that the virus would have on the economies of South Asia and urged SAARC to help the member countries.

Taskforce:

• Afghan President highlighted the vulnerability of Afghanistan as it shares a long border with Iran, one of the worst-affected countries and suggested that the SAARC countries create a task force and a framework of telemedicine to deal with the threat.
• Afghanistan urged India to provide satellite links for distance education.

Significance:

• The inter-regional co-operation could help set an example to the world, and contribute to a healthier planet by coming up with a unified strategy to fight the virus in the region.
• The COVID-19 situation seems to have lent an opportunity to mend differences within SAARC. The new initiative may well lead to a revival of the SAARC forum itself.

Additional information:

• The South Asia Satellite (designated GSAT-9), formerly known as SAARC Satellite, is a geostationary communication and meteorology satellite operated by ISRO for the SAARC region.
• The satellite was mooted by India as part of its neighborhood's first policy.
• Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are the users of the multi-dimensional facilities provided by the satellite.

Source: The Hindu