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Telecommunications giant Nokia Corporation has expressed its interest in establishing a Global Capability Centre (GCC) and additional research centres in Karnataka, Industries Minister MB Patil said following meetings at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, on January 22.
Nokia, which has had a presence in Karnataka for over 25 years and operates its largest global research centre in Bengaluru, held discussions with the State government on expanding its operations across Karnataka, including Tier-2 cities. During meetings with senior Nokia officials, the Karnataka government assured full support for the company’s future expansion plans, Minister Patil said.
The Minister also reiterated the State government’s commitment to supporting the World Economic Forum’s ‘Yes–BLR UpLink’ initiative, aimed at developing the ‘Yes Bengaluru’ programme on sustainable urban development into a globally recognised platform for government–industry collaboration. He said the matter was discussed in detail during a meeting with John Dutton, Head of UpLink at the WEF.
The UpLink initiative provides financial assistance, mentorship and pilot opportunities to start-ups working on real-world, city-centric challenges and contributing to urban development. The WEF UpLink delegation has appreciated the Karnataka government’s continued support for the initiative, Patil added.
Apart from Nokia, discussions were also held with global cybersecurity major Cloudflare on joining the ‘KWIN City’ project and exploring future expansion opportunities in the State. Cloudflare’s Global Strategy Head, Stephanie Cohen, described Karnataka as one of the world’s best destinations for attracting advanced technologies, according to the Minister.
Patil said US-based space technology firm Vast Space has expressed interest in partnering with Karnataka in areas related to space technology, advanced manufacturing and innovation-driven initiatives. Aerospace company Voyager Technologies has also shown interest in entering into partnership agreements with the State and collaborating with ISRO on space technology and research initiatives.