Former chief minister and patron of People's Democratic Party Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Wednesday favoured strengthening of cooperation between the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries and making Jammu and Kashmir the hub of regional trade and economic activities.

Mufti interacted with SAARC heads of the states and discussed the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the region, a PDP statement said in Srinagar.

He emphasised the need for fully opening up the state to the fast economic activities shaping up in the region so that the people of the state could also reap the benefits of economic liberalisation, it said.

People of the state must become stake holders in the peace process through their active involvement in the economic activities in the region as they have failed to keep pace with the rest of world due to the turmoil, he said.

The fresh air of globalisation, market economy and liberalisation could not cross into the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, denying the place and its residents an opportunity to exploit their fabled entrepreneuerial and artistic skills, he
said.

Mufti also held detailed discussions with Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and other senior functionaries on the political situation in the region and the need for carrying forward the Confidence Building Process, he said.

Mufti favoured increasing the frequency of people-to-people contact, making travel across Line of Control hassle free and starting trade between two parts of Kashmir.