Pak IT body pushes for India links to boost trade

The President of the Pakistan Software Houses Association believes that joint ventures with India in the information and technology sector can boost mutual trade up to $5 billion between both countries.

Jehan Ara, who recently led a high profile IT delegation to India, noted that through joint ventures, investment and exchange of expertise, Pakistan and India can have mutual trade up to $5 billion dollars.

Jehan Ara said that on the recent visit to India, the most positive outcome was that Pakistani and Indian IT giants had decided to work on developing an "India-Pakistan e-land" at the border where people can meet, interact, teach, learn and jointly develop intellectual property.

She said the IT sectors in both countries will try to convince their respective governments to allow telecommunications access to work across borders.

They will continue to investment in young people, facilitate exchanges and provide education and skilling to enable them to achieve their potential, Jehan Ara said.

"The Indian IT market is huge with volumetric exports but it is lacking of high quality of services. In contrast, the Pakistani market is small comparatively, but has gained tremendous reputation with its products and services," she said and added, "These two countries will aid each other to enhance their quantum and quality of IT services and products."

Pakistani IT firms are experts of gaming and animation, whereas Indians are master service providers of IT-enabled services, she said.

It will be conducive for Indian IT companies to set up their BPOs in Pakistan in exchange for gaming and animation expertise from Pakistan, she further explained.

There are lots of hurdles to set up software houses in each other's countries by the two states, but it is an easy solution to make a joint platform in a third country such as the UAE, Singapore or Malaysia, she said.

She said the two countries have large young populations whose energies can, with proper education and skills training, be utilised productively in order to reap the "demographic dividend" and build collaborative projects between the youth of both countries.