Asian Tech Ministers Discuss Outsourcing, Western Anger Over Job LossesAsian Tech Ministers Discuss Outsourcing, Western Anger Over Job Losses

HYDERABAD, India (AP) -- India lobbied its neighbors and business rivals on Monday to jointly resist a backlash in America and other developed nations over companies shifting software and customer-service jobs to Asia.

"This is a matter of concern for all of us," Indian Communications and Information Technology Minister Arun Shourie told ministers and technology officials from 30 Asian countries who gathered in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad for a two-day summit Monday.

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. The summit is discussing how to attract even more of this work from the United States and Europe.

Job losses in the United States from this trend have angered unions there, and some U.S. states are considering legislation to protect local jobs.

"We must come together to find a consensus approach to fight this backlash," Shourie said.

Shourie also said Asian countries should cooperate more on technology.

The New Delhi government turned to some of its rivals in the outsourcing market, such as China and Philippines, to devise a common strategy.

Shourie also repeated his recent warning that India--being pushed to open its markets and ease import restrictions--will link those moves to the willingness of Western countries to allow job shifts to Asia.

"We can't keep opening our markets while they (advanced nations) keep closing theirs, not just in goods but in services as well," he said.

Besides discussing outsourcing, delegates at the meeting will also look at ways to bridge Asia's digital divide--the gap in access to technology between rich urbanites and poor, rural communities.

India, where one-third of the 1 billion residents are illiterate, is showcasing 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.

Shourie said Asian countries must share what they learn from such projects so that they can be implemented across the continent.