Karnataka eager on partnership with Dutch, said Dy CM

BENGALURU: Having 9 per cent of investments from the Dutch in Karnataka with investments worth 1 billion US dollars, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday stated to aspire for partnership with Dutch and said that Karnataka and Dutch share similarities in major industries such as food processing, biotech and pharma, research and development, innovation among others.

After welcoming a delegation led by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, Shivakumar brought to the notice of the Dutch delegation that Karnataka has a rich tradition of industries across sectors ranging from technology to manufacturing to agriculture and tourism and assured the Dutch delegation that the State Government is committed to foster an conducive environment for business growth.

The State Government has initiated several measures to enhance investor friendliness, he said and told the Dutch delegation that Karnataka is a top destination for investors and total investments of about Rs 4.67 trillion till financial year 2022-23 and the State ranked second position in drawing Foreign Direct Investments in the country in the 2022-23 financial year.

Being the fastest growing metropolitan cities of the world, Shivakumar said Bengaluru is ranked 16th on the Prime Global Cities Index-2023 and the city is a favoured destination of companies based in the United States of America.

Regarding the infrastructure, Shivakumar told the delegation that Karnataka is a leader in exports having excellent connectivity to major markets having two international airports, 47 national highways, 145 State highways, rail connectivity of 3,818 km, 13 minor ports and a major port in Mangaluru.

“We have a dedicated Industrial policy that focuses on key areas such as artificial intelligence, research and development, advanced manufacturing among others aimed at becoming an integral part of the global value chain,” said the Deputy Chief Minister.

He told the delegation that the State Government initiated steps to ease of doing business and approvals were relaxed with a three years moratorium and labour laws have also been relaxed creating a friendly working environment for both companies and employees.

Minister for Heavy Industries M.B. Patil, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma and others were present.