Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay Wednesday called for greater integration among South Asian countries to bolster growth.
The prime minister told the 18th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) that collective resources needed to be better used to reduce high levels of poverty in the region.
This is the first time Tobgay has attended the SAARC summit.
"Our region is blessed with resources which, however, need to be distributed equitably. One-fifth of the world's population can transform the future but need to be provided with enabling policies to unlock their potential," Xinhua quoted the Bhutanese prime minister as saying at the Summit inaugural.
