Srinagar: Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) and Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI) in a virtual meeting developed a consensus to create a joint road map and collaborate to boost business, promote tourism, work on human resources and upgrade health sectors.
According to spokesperson, KCCI, Farooq Amin, in the initial phase, perishable products like apple, edible tin food will be exported. “We are also planning for a weeklong food festival that will cater Kashmiri cuisine in Singapore targeting audiences specifically Singaporean Malays and Indians residing in Singapore,” he added.
As the tourism has received severe setback due to successive lockdowns, KCCI is expecting to boost the tourism sector once the life gets back to pre-pandemic normal. “We shall focus on bringing tourist from Singapore to Kashmir. Our plan will be to tie-up local travel agencies both in Singapore and Kashmir with the respective Chambers and come up with travel packages,” said the spokesperson.
As the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on economies, President KCCI Sheikh Aashiq Ahmad, in an interaction with his SMCCI counterpart Mr Farid Khan, expressed his vision to bring Kashmir to the limelight of opportunities and bring more employment and income to the people of Kashmir. According to its spokesperson, the President expressed the need to start with trading and exporting small goods to Singapore that are already popular in India. “The President expressed willingness to internationalize the Kashmir goods and invite world tourist to the valley,” said spokesperson.
President, SMCCI, Farid Khan, shared his vision to create a unified Muslim force that trade with each other and create a strong market. The millionaire businessman, Farid has been trading in Azerbaijan and other central Asian countries and envisions connecting with India and Kashmir as one his mission too.
Further, the duo discussed on augmenting health care infrastructure to save human live. President, KCCI stressed on the need of building a multi-speciality hospital in Srinagar City (Kashmir) that will cater to most advanced healthcare services. “We look forward to this project and are ready to bring in expertise from Singapore to Kashmir,” said President.
Further, in a bid to promote local talent pool and impart trainings in different areas especially human resources and Information Technology, KCCI and SMCCI agreed to utilize skills of industry experts to impart skills.
Mr Wasim Roungah, Chief Digital & Technology Officer ( Co-Founder) – UCS Global who is an industry expert in Information Technology sector with over 20 years’ experience in multiple countries and regions, aims to grow his business in South East Asia and Middle East, attracting talent from Kashmir, Singapore and Malaysia. As he has started a new journey with his own IT Company with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, his goal is to train and mentor the new generation to grow in the right direction and create a talent pool based in Kashmir and Malaysia, the spokesperson added.
Some of the other members who also participated in the virtual meeting include, Mr Mushtaq Ahmad and Mr Sakib Bazaz.
Mr Mushtaq is Chairman of STIE PTE Ltd over more than two decades of experience years of experience in the engineering solutions industry. Under his leadership, STIE PTE Ltd has achieved sustained growth, and cemented itself as a business that transforms essential services through constant innovation.
Similarly, Mr Sakib, President for Strategic Alliances at STIE has over 12 years’ experience in the field of strategic alliance, research and consulting. He has worked in India and Singapore for MNCs and local companies in the business development division and brought business worth millions with new alliances and sales.
“His role will be to connect Kashmir, Malay, and Muslim communities across board to build synergies,” said KCCI spokesperson adding that we look forward to get this project work pace up and work together as a team to reach the goals.
