Kerala to host Norwegian investors’ meet in Jan 2023: CM Vijayan

PTI, Oct 7, 2022, 1:09 PM IST

Kerala will host an investment meet of well-known Norwegian companies in January next year, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday.

The Indian representatives of the Norwegian companies who have investment interests in the southern state would take part in the proposed meet, the Chief Minister’s Office here said quoting Vijayan.

The Chief Minister, who is currently touring Europe, was speaking about the investment prospects of Kerala at a business meet organised in Oslo, Norway’s capital city, the CMO said in a statement.

Attended by representatives of 50 major companies, the business meeting was organised by the Indian and Norwegian embassies jointly with the Innovation Norway, Norway India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and Norwegian Business Association India, it said.

HydrogenPro CEO Erik Bolstad, MTR CEO Sanjay Sharma and the representatives of leading groups like Tomra and Cambi were among those who made presentations about the prospects of their respective companies.

”Norwegian companies have shown interest in areas such as hydrogen fuel, food processing, fisheries, shipping and waste management. The Chief Minister explained to them the investment possibilities in Kerala in these areas,” the CMO added.

Meanwhile, Vijayan visited the office of ASKO Maritime’s office in Horten and had a glimpse of the barge built for the company by the Cochin Shipyard recently.

ASKO Maritime Managing Director Kai Just Olsen, during the meeting, expressed interest to cooperate with the Kerala government’s proposed maritime cluster to be launched in Kochi.

”The government’s objective is to turn Kochi into a maritime hub. The state is also making special efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The MD has offered ASKO’s support in this regard,” the CMO said.

The Chief Minister’s visit to Norway is part of the European trip, which would also cover England and Wales, and is envisaged to woo more investments to Kerala in the IT sector, meet stakeholders in Ayurveda and tourism sectors and also to understand the educational models in those countries.

The trip is scheduled to be wrapped up by October 12.