Collective efforts more important in Saarc region: Modi

Nowhere in the world are collective efforts more important than in south Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit here Wednesday.

"Nowhere in the world are collective efforts more urgent than in South Asia; and, nowhere else is it so modest: PM @narendramodi," ministry of external affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin quoted Modi in a tweet.

"How much have we done in Saarc to turn our natural wealth into shared prosperity," Modi asked.

He, however, reassured the summit that south Asia is slowly coming together.

The prime minister also said that the future he dreamt for India was the future that he wished for the entire Saarc region.

"The future I dream for India is the future I wish for our entire region...I have traveled the world from the middle of the Pacific to the Atlantic and I see a rising tide of integration..."

Modi added that there was "much to learn from each other, even more - to do together".

"I know India has to lead and we will do our part.. hope, each of you will, too," he added.

Established in 1985 in Bangladesh, the Saarc is a regional association of eight south Asian countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined Saarc as its eighth member state in 2007.