Indian has decided to issue business visas for three to five years for Saarc citizens.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement on Wednesday, aiming to “make the procedures simple and facilities better,” reported several news outlets.
Addressing the opening session of the two-day Saarc summit, Modi said: "I also believe that if we can light up each other's towns and villages, we can build a brighter tomorrow for our region."
He noted: "India has huge trade surplus with Saarc countries. I believe that this is neither right nor sustainable."
"Let's all make our procedures simple, our facilities better, our standards common and our paper work less burdensome."
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina also urged the Saarc leaders for setting aside their differences and working on collective strength for bringing real prosperity of the people of the region.
"Saarc can actually attain collective political will and ambitions. What is needed is to set aside our differences and work on collective strength for bringing real progress of the region," she said while addressing the session.
On the other hand, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also called for a deeper ties among the Saarc nations.
The 18th Saarc summit has begun in Kathmandu of Nepal with South Asian leaders on Wednesday.
The Saarc is an economic and geopolitical organisation of eight countries that are primarily located in South Asia.
The idea of regional political and economical cooperation in South Asia was first raised in 1980 and the first summit was held in Dhaka on December 8 in 1985, when the organisation was established by the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Since then the organisation has been expanded by accepting one new full member, Afghanistan, and several observer members.
