Business ki Asha: IT CEOs of India and Pakistan see great potential for collaboration The Aman ki Asha IT Committees of Pakistan and India, comprising top Indian and Pakistani IT professionals and CEOs, met in Pakistan (Karachi and Lahore) on Dec 10-11, 2010 to discuss potential for collaboration in the field of IT as well as for the larger aim of promoting peace between India and Pakistan. The IT committee is one of six committees representing the sectors identified as having the greatest potential for collaboration between Pakistan and India. The meetings were marked by frank and free discussions in an atmosphere of great cordiality and open-mindedness.

DECLARATION
We, IT professionals of India and Pakistan, members of the Aman ki Asha IT Committee, reiterate our sense of responsibility towards working for peace between India and Pakistan, for the sake of our future generations. We are of the firm belief that great opportunities of mutual benefit exist if we can combine the skills and talent that abounds in our two countries. We are convinced that the current level of trade between India and Pakistan, at $ 2 billion, can quadruple if trade, investments and joint ventures are allowed to freely take place. If this were to happen, the Indian IT sector foresees the possibility of developing collaborative business of over five billion dollars in this decade with Pakistan.

In light of our deliberations, we recognise that

- India and Pakistan have cultural, linguistic and demographic affinities due to which Indian and Pakistani IT companies and individuals cooperate and work well together in countries around the world; it is time such collaboration took place in our own countries, which will be of mutual benefit to both our countries and help our respective industries.
- Both countries have much to offer each other, with rich human resource capabilities and intellectual property, that could be leveraged through joint projects
- Both countries have large young populations whose energies can, with proper education and skills training, be utilized productively in order to reap the 'demographic dividend'; centers of excellence in global sourcing would enable sharing of training content and joint research projects
- The significant product ecosystem that Pakistan has developed, combined with the world class services and product companies in India, can become a global best in class partnership offering solutions to the world

We resolve to:
• Make every effort to work together and collaborate in whatever way we can
• Jointly invest in our young people, facilitate exchanges, and provide education and skilling to enable them to achieve their potential
• Work towards developing India-Pakistan joint technology initiatives through which people can meet, interact, teach and learn.
• Facilitate road shows in order to showcase our products and human resources in each other's countries.

The committee also felt that an easier visa regime would greatly increase the chances of business collaborations between the two countries

Aman ki Asha IT Committee

India: Dr Ganesh Natarajan (Mission Leader), Chairman CII National Committee on IT & ITES, Vice Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies; Dr Uma Ganesh Natarajan, Chief Executive Officer, Global Talent Track Pvt. Ltd; Mr Harsh Manglik, Chairman, NASSCOM & Chairman-India & Geography Managing Director Accenture; Ms Nandita Mohan Gurjar, Senior Vice President & Group Head - Human Resources Infosys Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; Mr Pradeep Udhas, Executive Director, KPMG Advisory Services Pvt Ltd.; Ms Prameela Kalive, Vice President & Business Head, Zensar Technologies; Mr Rahul Mohod, Chief Executive Officer iResolvIT Pty Limited, Sydney; Mr Govind Das Sharma (Mission Manager), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Pakistan: Jehan Ara, President, Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA); Humayun Bashir, Country Head, Pakistan IBM; Yusuf Jan, Co-Founder, Mixit Technologies; Ashraf Kapadia, Managing Director Systems Ltd; Ali Jameel, Executive Director, TRG (The Resource Group), Naseer Akhtar, President & CEO, Infotech Pvt Ltd; Salman Akhtar, CEO, Techlogix; Ziad Bashir, Chairman, Arwen Technologies; Nadeem Elahi, MD and country head The Resource Group (TRG), Pakistan.

Meetings moderated by Amin Hashwani, President, Pakistan India CEO's Business Forum.

Monday, December 13, 2010

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