Tasmania, an island State of the Commonwealth of Australia, is seeking to deepen trade ties and collaborate with Kerala in areas like skill development, renewable energy and tourism.
A trade delegation led by the Tasmanian Minister for State Growth Matthew Groom, currently in the city, called on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday to identify opportunities for collaboration.
An official press note issued here said Mr.Groom and Mr.Vijayan had discussed the possibility of bilateral ties in small scale renewable energy and additional skill development programmes.
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Earlier, talking to the media, Mr.Groom said the Tasmanian government looked forward to partnering with Kerala in areas such as forest management, aquaculture and maritime development. Sustainable resource management, he said, was the main driver of Tasmania’s economy and the State was poised to offer its expertise in niche segments.
Mr.Groom said the shared concern for the environment, the threat posed by climate change and the quest for sustainable long-term growth provided opportunities for cooperation between Kerala and Tasmania. Renewable energy, he said, also offered good potential for collaboration. About 90 per cent of Tasmania’s energy is derived from clean, renewable sources like hydro and wind energy.
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Mr.Groom said Tasmania was looking to attract migrants from Kerala to overcome the demographic challenge of an ageing population. “We would like to have people from here to study and stay back in Tasmania. We already have an aggressive policy of visa sponsorship”.
Tasmanian Ambassador, former International cricketer and ICC match referee David Boon, who was part of the delegation, visited the green field stadium at Karyavattom. He interacted with the students of the Kerala Cricket Association and spent some time with them at the nets.
The team arrived in Thiruvananthapuram as part of a visit to other Indian cities like Mumbai and New Delhi.