"The world is passing through troubled times. The financial and economic crisis that has gripped Europe has many important lessons and implications for us," he said declaring open the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute for South Asia Regional Cooperation here.
"The events in the Euro zone should not cast a shadow over our own efforts at building unity and eventually a South Asian union," he said noting that people of South Asia always want to see our countries live together in peace and work together for common progress.
He lamented that "If anything, we have not been ambitious enough in working towards building a united South Asia where each of our countries seeks its economic and social salvation through cooperative development within the region and by leveraging each other