Karzai woos Indian IT firms

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday invited the Indian IT companies to set up their operations in his country.

During a visit to Hitec city, which houses several Indian and multinational IT companies at Madhapur on the city outskirts, Karzai said India made rapid strides in the IT sector as it had a solid foundation of high quality education.

Expressing his desire to develop IT sector in his country, he said Afghanistan offered good opportunities for investments. "I invite you to set up your operations or invest in joint ventures in Afghanistan. We will create a conducive environment and provide all support and facilities to you," he told representatives of IT companies.

He said India, particularly Hyderabad, offered opportunities for Afghan students to study and acquire knowledge. "Tomorrow, I will be visiting Osmania University campus. I will be interacting with students there. We are ready to learn and share your knowledge," he pointed out.

Earlier, L&T Infocity chief executive officer R Sridharan made a presentation on the infrastructure created by L&T for housing IT companies at the Hitec City complex.

In all, three phases of Hitec City have been taken up and completed at Madhapur. Similarly, HSBC and other big companies had constructed their own facilities in the area. "We are ready to work and develop a similar Hitec City in Kabul for housing IT companies there," he told the Afghan President.

Karzai, who arrived from New Delhi on a two-day visit to Hyderabad, visited the Hitec City as well as Tata Consultancy Services' Hyderabad campus at Madhapur and National Remote Sensing Agency campus at Balanagar on the city outskirts.

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