Road Link To Central Asia Optimum Requirement For Co-op : India

New Delhi, May 26, IRNA - Terming lack of road connectivity between South and Central Asian countries as a ˈmountain not easy to surmountˈ, India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari Friday said efforts were on to overcome it to ensure genuine cooperation in the region. The time will come when that problem will get resolved, he said referring to poor surface connectivity among South Asian countries, Afghanistan and Central Asian nations. Ansari was talking to reporters on Board Special Aircraft, while returning from a four-day visit to Uzbekistan, pti reported. When asked to explain the ˈmountainˈ he was referring to, he said the mountain is the political obstacles ˈwhich come in the wayˈ. Referring to the suggestion of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of having ˈbreakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Islamabad and dinner in Kabulˈ once the road network comes up, Ansari said road connectivity will facilitate free movement between India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the central Asian countries. ˈThe distances are not great,ˈ he said. He said during his talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, the issue of Indian trade investments came up. The two also agreed that any outside interference in Afghanistan could prove to be counter-productive and stressed the need to support a people-led political process against the backdrop of withdrawal of US-led forces from the war-torn country. They also reviewed bilateral cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism and called for further expansion of all-out relations./end