Ambassador of Dominican Republic visits the state of Kerala
New Delhi - The Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Republic of India, H.E. David Puig, conducted a three-day work visit to the state of Kerala, from the 30th of March to the 1st of April 2022, with the intention of strengthening the political, commercial, and cultural ties between the Dominican Republic and Kerala.
His Excellency held meetings in Trivandrum with the Minister of Finance, Mr. Kalanjoor Narayana; the Minister of Education and Labor, Mr. Vasudevan Sivankutty; and the Minister of Health, Medical Education, and AYUSH, Mrs. Veena George. During these conversations with the state officials, Ambassador Puig highlighted the geographical and socio-economical similarities between the two localities and expressed the willingness of the Dominican government to extend its relations with India, through the expansion of collaborations with state level institutions. Ambassador Puig also lauded the state government's decision to allocate funds from the state budget to develop a Centre of Latin American Studies, at the University of Kerala.
In Cochin, His Excellency had the opportunity to meet with Mr. John M Thomas, CEO of Kerala IT Parks; Mr. Nizamuddin Mohammed, CEO of Maker Village, an organization dedicated to the development of Startups; and Mr. K Harikumar, President of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce, the oldest chamber in the state. During these meetings, Ambassador Puig shared the latest initiatives taken by the Dominican Republic to consolidate its IT sector and for the promotion of innovation as well as entrepreneurship. He also discussed the business-driven incentives offered by the Dominican government and the favourable investment climate provided by the country's economic stability.
Moreover, Ambassador Puig met with the Director of the Kochi Biennale, Mr. Bose Krishnamach. The director was accompanied by Mr. Bonny Thomas, treasurer and member of the biennale trust, and Mr. Ameen Khaleel, an artist related to the initiative. The encounter served as an opportunity to discuss ways to create links between the Dominican community of artists and the Kochi Biennale.
Ambassador Puig also visited several academic institutions within the state, including the University of Kerala, in Trivandrum; The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, located in Thiruvananthapuram; and the Cochin University of Science and Technology, in Cochin. These meetings acted as ground to explore the possible areas for academic cooperation with the state.