LAHORE: Speakers at a policy dialogue on day two of the international conference on `InterRegional Connectivity: South Asia and Central Asia` agreed that enhancing people-to-people contact and institutional collaborations, especially among universities of Asian states, was the best way forward to interand intraregional connectivity.

They recommended the policymakers of South Asia and Central Asia states that since benefits ofgeo-economics were immense, the economic affairs should take precedence over bilateral disputes between the states.

They said a permanent thinktank should be established where academicians and researchers could debate on the emerging issues of inter-regional connectivity.

Prof Dr Tahir Kamran said there was a need for effective and joint measures by the states to counter ethnic hostilities and religious extremism which figured strongly in the limited progress on interregional connectivity till date.

Conference chairman Prof DrKhalid Manzoor Butt said there was a strong realisation among the Central Asian and South Asian states for inter-regional economic cooperation.

He said for the realisation of this goal, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) could be effectively exploited to create an integrative line between Pakistan and Central Asian states, particularly Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan via Afghanistan.

He said these republics should be involved in this profit-seeking venture to create an environment for the comprehensive, sustainableand uniform progress for peace and stability in the whole region.

Mr Ching Chgang said the South Asia itself had serious strategic unbalance.

`India suspects China`s plan of `One Belt One Road` and refuses to cooperate even in literal or oral way.

Dr Sinderpal Singh said that sovereignty and the integrity of territorial borders had been core concerns for the post-colonial states since their inception as independent states.

Earlier, 32 research papers were presented at the three technical sessions of the conference.