Lessons from Indian Army for Indo-Pak Businessmen
Lessons from Indian Army for Indo-Pak Businessmen
Majyd Aziz
I was being chauffeured to ITC Maurya Hotel in New Delhi after attending a meeting as part of the 80-member Pakistan Business Delegation led by Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim in September 2011. As we traversed the Cantonment area, I saw strategically placed billboards of the Indian Army. Each billboard had a touching and significant slogan as it depicted the vision of the Indian Army.
Next day, I made sure I wrote down these motivating slogans. As I was writing these, I suddenly realized that although these three slogans were illustrating the Indian Army, they were remarkably applicable to businessmen of India and Pakistan, especially with the prevalent “feel good” environment.
The first slogan is “Empower your dreams”. For so many decades, the Indo-Pak businessmen, as well as their business organizations, have been demanding the normalization of bilateral trade regime and increase in trade and, hopefully, in investment. The desire has always been unhindered movement of businessmen across the border as well as longer duration, multiple visas without any limitations and restrictions. They want to see the day when there would be substantial bilateral trade ensuing very soon into a favorable and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement. This has been the vision for many years and now the time has come for a formidable and sincere campaign to achieve this objective. The visit of the Pakistan Business Delegation in September and the expected 200-members Indian Business Delegation led by Indian Commerce Minister Shri Anand Sharma in February of 2012 would surely be the way in which the dreams would really be empowered.
The second slogan is “They march with melodious precision”. Businessmen and industrialists on both sides of Pakistan’s eastern borders have been on the same page and not only have the yearning to undertake extensive bilateral trade but are passionate about their
Majyd Aziz
I was being chauffeured to ITC Maurya Hotel in New Delhi after attending a meeting as part of the 80-member Pakistan Business Delegation led by Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim in September 2011. As we traversed the Cantonment area, I saw strategically placed billboards of the Indian Army. Each billboard had a touching and significant slogan as it depicted the vision of the Indian Army.
Next day, I made sure I wrote down these motivating slogans. As I was writing these, I suddenly realized that although these three slogans were illustrating the Indian Army, they were remarkably applicable to businessmen of India and Pakistan, especially with the prevalent “feel good” environment.
The first slogan is “Empower your dreams”. For so many decades, the Indo-Pak businessmen, as well as their business organizations, have been demanding the normalization of bilateral trade regime and increase in trade and, hopefully, in investment. The desire has always been unhindered movement of businessmen across the border as well as longer duration, multiple visas without any limitations and restrictions. They want to see the day when there would be substantial bilateral trade ensuing very soon into a favorable and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement. This has been the vision for many years and now the time has come for a formidable and sincere campaign to achieve this objective. The visit of the Pakistan Business Delegation in September and the expected 200-members Indian Business Delegation led by Indian Commerce Minister Shri Anand Sharma in February of 2012 would surely be the way in which the dreams would really be empowered.
The second slogan is “They march with melodious precision”. Businessmen and industrialists on both sides of Pakistan’s eastern borders have been on the same page and not only have the yearning to undertake extensive bilateral trade but are passionate about their