At meet, Shourie says he will press MHA for roaming to Pak

The Made-in-Pakistan exposition took off today where 178 stalls display industrial wares ranging from automotive components and computers to...

The Made-in-Pakistan exposition took off today where 178 stalls display industrial wares ranging from automotive components and computers to cotton furnishings, dyes and chemicals, all from Pakistan.

The nine-day summit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) was inaugurated by Union Minister for Communications, IT & Disinvestment Arun Shourie who said he would request the Home Ministry to consider allowing roaming mobility with Pakistan during the upcoming cricket series.

‘‘Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal put the point to me today and I will take it up… It is really a matter for the Home Ministry and others to decide but I will take it up with them, for at least the cricket month,’’ he said.

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Addressing the function, Wipro chairman and managing director Azim Premji said that Pakistan’s market was on Wipro’s radar but did not specify any time-frame. He said a Wipro delegation would leave for Pakistan within the coming three months to assess the possibilities. ‘‘We will start looking at it (the Pakistan market), and we’ll be sending a delegation there with some people from our company in the next three months,’’ Premji said.

Pakistani stalls seemed to be doing brisk business on the first day, though several exhibitors said they would have to leave three or four days before the summit closes on March 11. ‘‘We have received excellent response, but we cannot ignore our Pakistan operations for too long,’’ said Mazhar Ali, proprietor of Warsi Impex, handicrafts manufacturer from Karachi.