Countries in the South Asian region should improve levels of cooperation and interaction to make the region more development oriented, more competitive at the global level and prosperous, said Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Saturday.
Speaking as the Chief Guest at the first conference on "India and Development Partnerships in Asia and Africa: Towards a New Paradigm" in Pune, Ansari said, the region is confronted with major developmental challenges of poverty, inequality, illiteracy, disease, hunger and homelessness.
"A joint and cooperative effort in addressing these common challenges should be the logical way forward for South Asia," he opined.
The two-day conference was organized by the Symbiosis International University along with Public Diplomacy Division of Ministry of External Affairs.
The conference will present an opportunity to look into how India's role in the developmental landscape has evolved over the past decade.
Governor of Maharashta K. Sankaranarayanan, Maharashtra Minister of State for Tribal Development, Vijay Kumar Gavit, various academicians and researchers from different countries were present on the occasion.
