Elaborating on his idea of making borders irrelevant, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said a day should come when one could have breakfast in Amritsar and dinner in Kabul.
"I dream of a day, while retaining our respective national identities, one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. That is how my forefathers lived. That is how I want our grandchildren to live," he said, sharing his vision about relations with Pakistan.
In a significant statement, he said India wanted to improve ties with Pakistan and generate trust to enable the two countries to sign a peace, security and friendship treaty.
"I earnestly hope that relations between our two countries become so friendly, and that we generate such an atmosphere of trust between each other, that the two nations would be able to agree on a treaty of peace, security and friendship," he said while addressing industry body FICCI.
Dr Singh said there were enormous opportunities for promoting mutual cooperation, but to exploit these, "the nations of South Asia have to work sincerely to control the scourge of terrorism and extremism."
He said in an increasingly globalised world, political borders were no longer economic and social barriers.
The prime minister said the destiny of people of South Asia was interlinked and India could not be a prosperous, dynamic economy and a stable polity if the countries in the neighbourhood were also not prosperous and stable.
"Similarly our neighbours cannot prosper if India does not do so well," Dr Singh said.
He also asked the industry to be prepared for a fast-track economic integration in South Asia.
More from rediff