LAHORE: SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) President-designate Iftikhar Ali Malik on Sunday proposed COVID-19 emergency fund for member countries to jointly combat the pandemic.
In a news statement, he suggested that Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should pool an initial amount of $5 million each on voluntary basis.
Malik said Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan should contribute $2 million in this proposed virus fund as “this is important for South Asian countries to focus on collaboration, not confusion, and preparation, not panic.”
“Looking ahead, we can create a common research platform to coordinate research on controlling epidemic diseases within our South Asian region,” he added.
Malik said while setting an example for the world, South Asian countries come forward with commitment and determination and contribute to a healthier planet, putting all kinds of skirmish on the backburner as the coronavirus is a common threat for human beings.
“Unlike Western countries that have a proper quarantine mechanism in place at airports and other places and medical facilities available to patients, whereas countries in South Asia lack preparedness to tackle the situation. A possible spread of the virus in these countries could prove to be catastrophic,” he added.
Appreciating Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking exigent measures against the coronavirus in Pakistan, Malik said the good thing is that the government was making all-out efforts to deal with the deadly virus.
He urged all segments of the society to come forward and play their role in containing the spread of novel coronavirus.
He said like other countries in the world, Pakistan’s initial economic losses in different sectors of the country’s economy have been estimated at Rs1.3 trillion.
“These losses are going to be incurred on account of drop in the GDP growth because of reduction in services sector, including airline business and others, FBR’s revenue loss, massive decline in imports, exports, reduction in remittances, disruption in food supplies and other fronts,” Malik said.
