PICIC chief visit raises hopes of closer ties

Muhamaad Ali Khoja, chairman and managing director of Pakistan's leading development financial institution "" Pakistan Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation (PICIC) "" was in India last week discussing how best India and Pakistan could collaborate in the field of finance.

Born in Gujarat, in a small town called Dhari, Khoja spent the weekend renewing family acquaintances in his home town.

This was after the 60-odd year-old chief spent a week in closed-door company with the ICICI group's brass, exploring opportunities of collaboration between the two groups.

Khoja, who is well-versed in Gujarati and Kutchi, told the ICICI brass that collaboration between India and Pakistan would do wonders for this part of the world.

On the political front, the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first to initiate peace between the two countries. This was followed by cricket teams from both countries playing a series in Pakistan.

In the end, it is economic ties that write relationships, said a senior ICICI official. Despite the political barriers, economic and corporate relationships will improve the peace ties between India and Pakistan.

These can, of course, only be possible with the approval of the respective governments. PICIC CMD's visit to India was kept secret for security reasons and as it was feared that vested interests are keen to destabilise the relationship between the two countries.

Khoja, who returned to Pakistan on Sunday, came with a mission to better understand how the ICICI group has fared in insurance and banking. The ICICI group is seen to be the equivalent of PICIC, with the exception that the latter does not have an insurance venture.

PICIC is essentially a development finance institution with interests in banking and mutual fund operations. Since India and Pakistan share similar cultures and the profile of its people are alike, PICIC is keen to develop greater collaboration between the two countries in the area of insurance and banking.