ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Tuesday said cooperation among South Asian countries was not just an opportunity but a necessity.

He was speaking at a three-day international conference on `Promoting South Asia Regional Cooperation in Higher Education`, which started here on Tuesday.

`Your presence and contribution to this dialogue will be instrumental in driving forward these shared goals, and we anticipate collaborating with you on this transformative journey,` he added.

He expressed the hope that the con-ference would be an occasion for the participants to share knowledge, exchange best practices and build partnerships aimed at advancing the collective goals of higher education development in the region.

Higher education experts and policymakers from South Asian countries, including Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, are participating in the conference organised by HEC under its World Bankfunded Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project.

According to the HEC, the conference is expected to create a collaborative environment to foster cross-border collaboration, strengthen regional networks, and lay the groundwork for sustainable improvements in higher education across South Asia.

HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said over two billion people live in the South Asian region and they face a lot of challenges. It is heartening to see thought leaders, policymakers and educators coming together to share their knowledge and experiences.

`We at HEC Pakistan are committed tofostering regionalcollaboration, par-ticularly within South Asia, to establish a holistic and inclusive higher education ecosystem. This conference will help pave the way to unlock the full potential of higher education in our region,` he said.

World Bank`s Practice Manager for Education South Asia Dr Keiko Inoue said promoting cooperation in higher education among South Asian countries was extremely important for the future development of all the countries in the region.

`Strengthening research and commercialisation processes can create innovations across several industries and services and promote positive development in South Asian countries.

As the chairman HEC highlighted the borderless nature of the challenges, solving the issue in one country will not get the job done anymore. We will have to start from our countries but also increase the scope over the region if we really want to get rid of our problems.

HEC Executive Director Dr Ziaul Qayyum said higher education is not a localised concern but a global imperative. `We are not talking about educa-tion in classrooms but education across the region that technology has made possible. But we must think about e quipping ourselves with the tools to make this cooperation possible.

The opening ceremony also featured an overview of South Asian Region HigherEducationRegionalCooperation activities to-date by World Bank`s Lead Education Specialist Nina Arnhold, and a session on quality assurance and accreditation in East Asia and Europe by senior adviser European University Association Dr Andree Sursock.

The first plenary session on `Higher Education for Economic Development, was chaired by Senior Education Specialist of World Bank Dr Mohan Aryal with speakers from Bhutan, Pakistan, Maldives Nepal and Bangladesh.

The second plenary session, `Promoting Regional Cooperation to Orient Higher Education to the 21st Century Labour Market` was chaired by Dr Ziaul Q ayyum.

The first day of the conference concluded with a visit of the foreign delegates to different universities in Islamabad.