Manmohan Singh Asia Quotations

Regional economic cooperation in South Asia has fallen far short of our expectations and the dreams of our founding fathers, ... It remains far behind more successful examples in both Asia and other regions of the world. I sincerely hope that SAFTA comes into force by January 1, 2006, but even this will represent only a modest beginning in terms of our goals.

We cannot be the crossroads of Asia but remain disconnected within our own region.

The honest answer is that regional economic cooperation in South Asia has fallen far short of our expectations.