Historic day without precedence: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described the launch of the South Asian Satellite by India as a "historic moment" and said it opens up new horizons of engagement in the region, a view that was shared by leaders of six other countries of South Asia.

Modi, who has projected the satellite as India's "priceless gift" to its neighbours, said the "unprecedented" development sends out a message that "even sky is not the limit when it comes to regional cooperation".

The launch was celebrated jointly through a video conference by Modi, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh PMN Sheikh Hasina, Bhutanese Prime Minister Thering Tobgay, Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Srisena.

Pakistan is not a part of the project as it had refused to accept India's "gift", which Modi had proposed soon after becoming the Prime Minister in 2014.

"Successful launch of South Asian Satellite is a historic moment. It opens up new horizons of engagement," Modi tweeted immediately after the GSLV-F09 carrying South Asia

"Today is a historic day, a day without any precedence," he said later while addressing the video conference.

Underlining the concept of 'sabka sath, sabka vikas' (cooperation of all, development for all), he said the development marked fulfilment of India's promise made two years back to advance its space technology for the growth and prosperity of South Asia.