AP Worldstream
01-12-2004
Dateline: HYDERABAD, India
Officials were gathering Monday in India's technology hub to discuss ways to persuade more Western companies to relocate jobs to Asia, and how to tackle growing anger over resulting job losses in America and other developed countries.
"Asia is going to be driving force of technology and development in this century," Lakshmi Narayanan, an Indian technology official, said ahead of the second Asian Information Technology Ministers Summit that begins Monday in Hyderabad, capital of southern Andhra Pradesh state.
Scores of Western companies in recent years have moved jobs in software development, chip design, and back office services to Asia, especially India, to benefit from lower wages, and the summit was expected to focus on how to attract more work from abroad.
However, subsequent job losses in the United States have angered unions, and some U.S. states now are considering legislation to protect local jobs.
India is expected to use the 2-day summit to mobilize others to counter such moves.
"If measures are taken and bills are passed, then how can you expect us to go on opening up our markets ... Things can't be one-sided," Indian Information Technology Minister Arun Shourie said last week in New Delhi.
China and the Philippines were among those expected to attend the summit. Israel and Russia were also expected to send their ministers or senior officials.
Delegates also will discuss ways to increase computer and Internet usage among Asia's poor.
India, where one-third of 1 billion plus people are illiterate, wants to showcase its modest successes in bringing technology to the masses, including a computer-enabled system to teach reading and writing and a wireless telephone system that costs just a third of conventional phones.
"We will share our knowledge and experience with Asian countries and also learn from theirs," Narayanan said.
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