British diplomat declares UK in Kerala Week a success
KOCHI: Declaring the ‘UK in Kerala Week’ event a grand success, Chandru Iyer, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Kerala and Karnataka, said the programme had worked towards further strengthening UK’s engagement with Kerala.
Iyer and his team held over 100 meetings with government officials, businesspersons, start-ups, healthcare and tourism sectors, NGOs, schools and universities, sportspersons, and theatre and civil society representatives between November 6 and 10 in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi as part of the programme.
“Kerala and the UK already nurture a deep relationship. This week, we have been engaging with a range of people and organisations to better understand opportunities, strengthen collaborations, and celebrate existing partnerships. The UK in Kerala Week has been a grand success,” he said.
In Kochi, Iyer and his team informed businesses about the benefits of tying up with UK firms, met entrepreneurs and start-ups, visited Maker Village, and went to the Kochi mayor’s office to discuss UK-supported initiative Cities4Forests to make Kochi greener and more sustainable. They also met the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
The British Deputy High Commission, Bengaluru, concluded the programme on Thursday with a grand reception. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the “UK in Kerala Week” in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. Harjinder Kang, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia, said: “Education is one of the mainstays of the living bridge between the UK and India. Indian students make up one of the UK’s largest groups of international students. From 2019 to 2023, the British Council provided scholarships worth GBP 7.54 million to Indian students.”
Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas and senior tourism officials met the UK delegation for a UK-Kerala Tourism roundtable. Representatives of Visit Britain (UK’s National Tourist Board), Kerala Tourism, and tourism businesses based in the UK and Kerala, held a 90-minute session to explore ways to strengthen the flow of people between Kerala and the UK.