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by Elmo Leonard

South Asian nations must expand their cargo services, capitalising on the current situation where the West is caught up in a recession, President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) Rakesh Malik told the ACAAI Convention in Colombo.

Seen addressing the media in Colombo are from left: President ACAAI, Rakish Malik, Chairman ACAAI Convention Committee, Deepak Dadlani and Vice President ACAAI, Sam Katgara. Pic: by A. Maduraveeran

ACAAI held its 30th convention in Colombo in its bid to foster friendly relations between South Asian states, and with the acquired unity, play a greater role in global cargo services, Chairman, ACAAI Convention Committee, Deepak Dadlani said.

The Indian freight forwarders appealed to the media in Colombo to help them improve the freight forwarding industries of India and the region. Towards such an end, bold and calculated changes have to be effected by the governments of South Asian countries and other bodies linked to the cargo industries of the region, they said. It was through teamwork of the freight forwarding fraternity of the region that they could handle more air and sea freight bound to different regions of the world, the Indians emphasised.

Dadlani said the West could take the lead and command the lion's share of the world's freight forwarding services as the governments of these nations were very sensitive to emerging features in the industry, and were quick to make changes. South Asian governments were however, slow to respond to the needs of the industry. Malik said that Colombo could become a hub for transshipment of cargo, but a lot of work needs to be done in this regard.

Dadlani said that the recent developments in tourism in the South Asian region were conducive to developing the cargo industries of the region. He lauded the move of SriLankan Airlines to have weekly flights from Colombo to Buddhagaya and Delhi.

Vice President, ACAAI, Sam Katgara told the media that many Indian tourists like to visit Sri Lanka, but are hampered by a lack of airline and other services.

He called for the development of tourism in South Asia in a bid to improve the freight forwarding industry of the region.

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