Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday that his recent European tour was highly successful and that it would pave the way for investments in various sectors and launching of projects in port, transport, agriculture, coir and horticulture sectors.
Business delegations from the Netherlands and Switzerland would visit the state soon. Mr Vijayan told reporters here that the decisions taken during the trip would be followed up by a committee headed by the chief secretary.
The government was planning to set up a centre of excellence in horticulture and floriculture sectors in the state with the assistance of Netherlands agriculture department. Preliminary discussions on the project were held with the Dutch agriculture secretary-general during the visit. Officials from the state will take the matter forward with the agriculture ministry and Dutch embassy in Delhi.
The chief secretary will hold talks for extending the operations of Dutch plant in Kerala to strengthen the coir sector in the state. Steps would be taken to increase the shelf life of banana through agricultural diversification and improve eco- tourism facilities in the state. A Dutch business delegation will visit Kerala for exploring the possibility of developing the shipping sector. A team of experts from Rotterdam port will be invited through the Dutch embassy for cooperation in the maritime sector. An MoU will be signed by October 2019 for development of ports for which the government has convened a high-level meeting.A delegation of representatives of Dutch industry will be invited to visit Kerala. The decision was taken during a meeting with VNO NCW, a Dutch Employers Federation. The state can benefit from the Dutch companies which have expertise in various sectors, including agriculture. An exhibition on the Indo-Dutch relations will be held in Kochi this year.
The services of a company- ARS Traffic and Transport Technology-- will be sought for easing the traffic congestion in Thiruvananthap- uram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The company has agreed to conduct a pilot study in Thiruvananthapuram.
During the meeting with CEOs and top government officials of Switzerland, the possibility of investment in Kerala was explored, he said. Many CEOs have evinced interest in investing in industrial parks in Kerala. Engineering companies are keen on extending their operations to the state. A delegation of Swiss CEOs will visit Kerala soon for this purpose, he said.
