PM urges ASOCIO to tap IT market in the region

NEW DELHI: Inaugurating the 19th General Assembly and Symposium of the Asian

Oceanian Computing Organization (ASOCIO) in the capital, Prime Minister Atal

Behari Vajpayee urged the nations to cooperate and tap the IT market in the

region.

"This will not only help in developing the region economically but also

help nations tide over the slowdown. The current economic slowdown is in fact

due to the deep structural imbalance in the world today and nations would do

well to remember that addressing this issue will give sustainable growth to the

economies of the world", Vajpayee said.

Pramod Mahajan, minister for IT and Communications, assured the industry that

the current slump will not have a lasting effect on the fortunes of the IT

industry, largely because of his personal belief that changes in human life

brought about by IT are very fundamental. He also pointed out in a lighter tone

that the IT sector continued to register robust growth even after his ministry

came into being three years ago. He said, "Tt should silence critics who

love to say that the IT and the Beauty industries are doing well because there

is no ministerial interference."

Other speakers at the inauguration were Harres Tan, chairman, ASOCIO; Kiran

Karnik, president, Nasscom and Phiroz Vandrevala, chairman, Nasscom.

The three day event that started on December 6, with the theme

"Government and Industry: Business in the Digital Economy" would focus

on trends and opportunities in the IT market in the APAC region, e-governance,

developing e-strategies for the digital economy and look into how government

and industry can collaborate in the new economy. Business delegations from 10

countries across the Asia Pacific region are participating in the event.

ASOCIO has 16 member nations from the region as well as guest members from

nations outside the region. The combined strength of member companies of all the

associations in the region account for 10,000 companies. ASOCIO is headquartered

in Japan and each member country gets to host this prestigious event once in 10

years. Traditionally, the Prime Minister of the host country inaugurates the

event.