Pakistan to host IT summit

It is destination Pakistan for India Inc now. Close on the heels of Pakistan Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz's visit to India to strengthen economic ties between the two countries, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the chamber of commerce of the information technology (IT) software and services industry in India, in association with Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) is organising the first ever India-Pakistan IT Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan on December 16, 2004.

Yet another delegation from the Association of Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) will head for Pakistan to hold a meeting in March next year.

The apex body for the $6.7 billion automobile component industry had originally planned to hold an executive meeting in Pakistan in December this year, but decided to postpone it so that it coincides with the annual fair held by the Pakistan Auto Parts Manufacturers Association (PAPMA).

"PAPMA representatives have requested us to hold this in March so that it coincides with the fair they are organising. In the past also, we have held our executive committee meetings abroad at locations like Thailand and Singapore to coincide with some trade fairs there," said Deep Kapuria, president of ACMA.

The 42-member executive committee of ACMA meets every alternate month. This is the apex decision making body of the association made up of the who's who of the Indian auto components business.

"There is a complimentarity in that Suzuki and Honda have production bases in both the countries. Some Indian two-wheeler companies have spoken of setting up joint ventures there with local companies," Kapuria added.

According to him, Indian auto components find their way to Pakistan in large numbers via Dubai and Singapore. Opening up the land route will throw up new business opportunities for Indian companies.

Kapuria informed that the domestic market however is not as big as it is in India. Sensing the opportunity, ACMA had taken a CEO's mission to Pakistan four years ago. The Nasscom team will be led by its chairman Jerry Rao and its president Kiran Karnik.

During the summit, Nasscom and P@SHA will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase trade and cooperation in the IT sector. The summit will feature keynote presentations, case studies and discussions from leading speakers from India and Pakistan.

Commenting on the initiative, Karnik said, "Nasscom has been working with P@SHA to contribute to the growth of the IT industry in both the countries.

Earlier this year an IT delegation from Pakistan, led by P@SHA visited India during NASSCOM 2004, an annual event for the ICT sector.

Taking this association forward, we are leading a high level IT delegation to Pakistan to participate in the India-Pakistan IT Summit.

"The Pakistan Software industry has a diverse mix of SME players and large IT companies some of whom have developed world-class software products. This summit will be a step in the direction of exploring and cultivating trade opportunities between the two countries in the IT and ITES sector," said Jehan Ara, president, P@SHA.

The delegation will visit Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to meet major IT companies and government officials. The summit will also provide an opportunity for delegates from Pakistan to interact and network with CEOs and senior managers of India's leading companies.