China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes, was highly praised at a seminar held here on Friday.

"Development strategies like Belt and Road proposed by China can greatly contribute to bolstering cooperation between Asia and rest of the world through economic integration," Nepali former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said at the seminar.

The former prime minister, who is also a senior leader of major opposition party CPN (UML), was of the view that the Belt and Road Initiative is an open and inclusive initiative to shape new world economic order featuring win-win situation.

"The idea of reviving the ancient Silk Road routes is a pragmatic instrument for promoting common peace and prosperity among countries around the world," he said.

Professor Mizanur Rahman of Bangladesh said the Belt and Road Initiative addresses the fundamental concerns of people in South Asia, while Muhammad Amir Rana, a security and political analyst from Pakistan, opined that the Belt and Road Initiative will help contribute to economic transformation and regional integration of entire South Asia.

Dinesh Chandra Devkota, a former member of Nepal's National Planning Commission, said that Nepal can be a vibrant transit economy between China and South Asia.

The seminar, entitled "Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Development in South Asia," was jointly hosted by Tulsi Lal Memorial Foundation and Pushpalal Memorial Foundation in the Capital.

The two-day event aims to explore greater possibilities of Belt and Road Initiative's prospects for economic development in South Asia and further enhance cooperation and connectivity between China and South Asia, the organizers said.

Participants in the seminar are senior advocates, professors, journalists and professionals from China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.