Nasscom leads first India-Pakistan IT summit

Thursday, 25 November 2004, 20:30 IST
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MUMBAI: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), India's software industry umbrella group, said Thursday the first ever India-Pakistan IT Summit would be held in Islamabad next month. As part of the four-day business tour beginning Dec 15, the Indian IT delegation, being led by Nasscom, will participate in a summit being organised in association with the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), said a Nasscom statement. The announcement comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in New Delhi where the two leaders discussed a host of issues including business relations. The India-Pakistan IT Summit will be held in Islamabad Dec 16, said the statement. The delegation will consist of representatives of companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HP Globalsoft, i-flex, Oracle, Mphasis, Xansa, NIIT, Computer Associates, Zensar Technologies, Mindtree Consulting, and Wipro Infotech. Nasscom will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with P@SHA during the visit to increase trade and cooperation in the IT sector. "Nasscom has been working with P@SHA to contribute to the growth and development of the ICT -information and communication technology - industry in both the countries," said Kiran Karnik, president of Nasscom. "Taking this association forward, we are leading a high level IT delegation to Pakistan to participate in the India-Pakistan IT Summit," he added. "The signing of MoU will also help provide a framework of co-operation for continuous interaction between IT companies in the two countries." The delegation will visit Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to meet major IT companies and government officials. The summit will provide an opportunity for representatives of IT companies from Pakistan to interact and network with officials of India's leading companies. "India's ICT sector has enjoyed tremendous growth in the past decade," said Jehan Ara, president of P@SHA. "ICT companies in both countries are keen to collaborate with each other in the areas of research and development, policy formulation and in exploring business opportunities together worldwide," she said. "The Pakistan software industry has a diverse mix of small and medium enterprises 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."
Source: IANS
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