Britain keen to invest in IT, infrastructure, health and education sectors in Kerala

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Britain keen to invest in IT, infrastructure, health and education sectors in Kerala - The Times of India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major boost to the 'Emerging Kerala' Global Connect 2012 at Kochi from September 12 to 14, Britain has shown keen interest in major projects in the IT, infrastructure, healthcare and education sectors of the state.

A high-level delegation, led by British deputy high commissioner Mike Nithavriankis from Chennai, held a series of meetings with chief minister Oommen Chandy to discuss investment opportunities Kerala has planned in the core sectors to accelerate its economic growth.

The British delegation has assured to share the project profiles with major companies in the UK.

The Kerala team apprised Nithavrianakis of a number of major upcoming projects, including National Investment Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ), development of minor ports, and excellence in higher education, LNG-based power plants and development of inland waterways.

"The British officials also expressed keen interest in the projects and promised to share these project profiles with top companies in the UK. Plans are also afoot to bring in someone from the ministerial level from the UK," said V Somasundaran, industries additional chief secretary.

In particular, the British team evinced keen interest in sectors such as information technology, healthcare, infrastructure and education, which incidentally are the core sectors of 'Emerging Kerala' Global Connect event, which is slated to be held in Kochi during September this year.

After discussions with the visiting delegation, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) managing director and the Industries secretary Alkesh Sharma said that the UK team was impressed.

He said, "The UK team was impressed by the positive response and appreciated the interaction with the Kerala chief minister and his team. In particular, they noted the highly skilled workforce and the quality of life in Kerala."

"Singapore, Taiwan and Canada have already shown interest in Kerala with a number of investment proposals for the state. The interest shown by Britain will also give a major fillip to achieving the objectives of Emerging Kerala branding exercise," Sharma said.

The British team held separate meetings with the chief secretary K Jayakumar, the health principal secretary Rajeev Sadanandan and the tourism principal secretary T K Manoj Kumar.

The delegation also held talks with the Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited chief executive officer, the managing director of the Kochi Metro Rail and the director of the Asian School of Business.

The team also visited Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram and Technocity in Pallipuram to get a first-hand knowledge of the activities and business opportunities there.
 

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