BHUBANESWAR: In a first-ever visit of a head of a nation to Odisha, President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam will arrive on a two-day visit to the state on Friday.
Accompanied by a nine-member delegation comprising leaders from business and leading academic institutions, the President’s engagements include discussions with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to strengthen economic ties and exploring mutual opportunities between Singapore and Odisha.
A MoU between the Skill Development and Technical Education (SD&TE) department of the state government and ITE Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, will be signed at World Skill Centre here in the presence of Tharman and Majhi to further enhance the skill development ecosystem in the state, official sources said.
“The MoU will formalise the intent to extend cooperation in the field of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). ITEES will provide enhanced support for expansion of the World Skill Centre, Bhubaneswar, in different areas such as hospitality, food and beverage operations, logistics, digital animation, healthcare assistance training and visual merchandising,” they said.
The other areas of collaborations with the island nation will be in artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace technology, avionics, marine engineering, retail, electronics, semiconductor and renewable energy.
Support for setting up of a world centre for information technology (WCIT) and information technology-enabled services (ITES) in areas such as cyber security, cloud computing, blockchain, internet of things and data services will be decided during the course of discussions.
Knowledge support for establishment of zonal industrial training institutes (ITIs) across the state with emphasis on enhanced intake capacity, introduction of new trades and robust industry engagement will be part of the agreements. The MoU will be valid for a period of five years with effect from January 17, 2025, sources said.
Majhi is scheduled to call on President Tharman on Friday. After a briefing by senior officers of the state government, Tharman will visit the World Skill Centre where the MoU will be signed.
On Saturday, Tharman will visit Sun Temple at Konark and later in the afternoon will visit the Bharat Biotech vaccine manufacturing unit at Info Valley-II.