By Ashraf Padanna
Thiruvananthapuram: Sharjah will set up a science and technology innovation centre in Kerala. According to an official statement yesterday, the facility is aimed at bringing to the market innovative products and services to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) of the emirate.
The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Kochi-based state-owned Infopark, signed a memorandum of understanding for the centre in Sharjah last week.
Dr Ajay Kumar, principal secretary, information technology, noted that over 7% of India’s IT workforce belongs to Kerala and it has strong base in academics with seven universities offering up to doctoral studies. This will help the SMEs in many ways, he said.
“These universities conduct high quality research which can be relevant for product and service enhancements of companies in Sharjah and they can now directly collaborate to commercialise the benefits of the research,” he said.
The MoU was signed at the ‘India & Sharjah – Partners in Progress’ event in the presence of UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, and other dignitaries.
“India has been a major trading partner of the UAE and is an ideal choice for a venture of this sort. The centre will help Sharjah-based companies to actively engage Kerala’s large talent pool to jointly produce cost-effective value added solutions,” said SCCI chairman Ahmed Mohamed Al Midfa.
The centre is expected to be operational in the first quarter next year at Technopark, adjacent to SmartCity promoted by the Dubai authorities which has been stalled due to differences with the state government.
India’s first transshipment terminal built by the Dubai Ports World is also expected to be commissioned early next year.
“This will act as a point of lead generation for Sharjah-based firms who want to use Kerala as a technology corridor for gaining a foothold into this large, fast growing region with investment opportunities spread across products, manufacturing, infrastructure and services,” said Infopark CEO Siddhartha Bhattacharya.
“Currently, 300 companies employ some 40,000 people in Kerala. The presence of the centre will help showcase the capabilities and produce business development opportunities.”