The Vice President of India Mohd. Hamid Ansari has said that different aspects of modern Central Asia are being studied in research institutions across the country .He said the need of the hour is to enhance coordination and cooperation amongst them to avoid overlapping, ensure better utilization of available resources and, eventually, more meaningful inputs for our foreign policy objectives.

Delivering inaugural address at the National Seminar on India and Central Asia at Chandigarh on Wednesday he said that greater attention also needs to be devoted to language skills and the study of social impulses in individual societies.

Mr. Ansari opined that over the past two decades Central Asia emerged as one of the fastest growing regions in the world and displayed considerable development potential . He said the region also enjoys the benefit of a strategic location between Asia and Europe so its importance has increased in international trade relations.

The Vice President said that no discussion on Central Asia and its immediate neighbourhood would be complete without taking on board the challenges arising out of the situation in Afghanistan. The entire region would therefore benefits if realistic alternatives are thought of and Afghanistan drawn into a cooperative regional economic and security framework so that nation-building there could proceed based on economic development. Mr. Hamid Ansari said India also hopes that the people of Central Asia will have no room for fundamentalism and religious extremism .