K'taka makes strong pitch for more foreign investments in Dubai Expo 2020

Dubai: Highlighting Karnataka’s ”dominant position” in the Aerospace and Defence sector, the state government on Sunday made a strong pitch for more foreign investments in these sectors, at the Dubai Expo 2020.

Delivering a keynote address during the session on “Opportunities in Aerospace, Defence and Space Sector of Karnataka” at Dubai Expo 2020, Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani pointed out that the state has great potential in these sectors, his office said in a statement.

“Karnataka, apart from being India’s largest Aerospace cluster, is also the 2nd largest producer of Heavy Electrical machinery in India. Bengaluru alone produces around 60 per cent of machine tools in India. Our state is also the 2nd largest chip design hub in the country. We have set up a Center of Excellence in partnership with Dassault Systems to provide industry-ready manpower,” he said.

Highlighting the thriving small scale industries many of which are auxiliary to the Aerospace and Defence sector, the minister said the state is providing a support system to push these sectors.

“Karnataka has a strong base of around 2,000 SMEs that carry out niche sub-contracting work in the Aerospace & Defence sector. Therefore, the well-developed support system for the sector has further facilitated the expansion of this industry while also attracting the global players to set up their base in our state,” he added.

The Minister, earlier in the day held a series of Business to Government (B2G) meetings with the business delegations of top companies at Karnataka Pavilion in Dubai Expo 2020, the release said.

The minister held a Business to Government (B2G) meeting with a delegation from United Parcel Service (UPS), which is one of the world’s largest package delivery companies and a premier provider of global supply chain solutions.

He also held talks with Dawood Al Shezawi, President, Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), which is an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Economy.

B2G meetings were also held with a delegation of Lulu Group- which responded positively to Nirani’s suggestions to set up Lulu markets across Karnataka, the Export Bahrain delegation, and Taghleef Industries- one of the largest global manufacturers of BoPP films, the release added.