Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that the Netherlands-Kerala relationship was significant for the State. It holds the key to exploring cooperation in various areas of mutual interest and to identify and adopt global best practices.
Mr. Vijayan was speaking at a reception hosted for King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima here. Referring to his visit to the Netherlands earlier this year, the Chief Minister said discussions and site visits had been productive and informative. “For instance, after our visit to the Port of Rotterdam, a Memorandum of Understanding is being executed now on a variety of areas including the development of small ports in Kerala,” he added.
The other MoUs under preparation include those on establishing a centre of excellence in Internet of Things and developing living labs for smart and sustainable village projects. The proposed areas of cooperation include sports medicine, international competitions, and tie-ups with Dutch football and hockey associations. The implementation of an action plan by the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction Team, a centre of excellence in fruits and vegetables under the Indo-Dutch action plan proposed at the Regional Research Station, Ambalavayal, Wayanad, establishment of a full-fledged de-fibering-cum-coco-pith manufacturing unit and a project to improve road safety and traffic mobility in Kerala are some of the other key proposals being explored.
The nine key sectors identified by the Netherlands, namely agriculture, water management, ports and logistics, inland waterways, healthcare, science and technology, urban development, shipping and renewable energy match Kerala’s requirements.
“Therefore, we propose to further explore bilateral cooperation in these areas,” Mr. Vijayan said.
