Bengaluru, 23 Jan

The Nokia Corporation has expressed interest in establishing a global capability centre and research centres in Karnataka, Industries Minister MB Patil said on Friday.

Nokia has held discussions on expanding operations across the State, he said.

During meetings with Nokia officials during the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, the state government assured full support for the company’s expansion plans, Patil said.

He also reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting the World Economic Forum’s ‘Yes–BLR UpLink’ initiative, which aims to develop the ‘Yes Bengaluru’ programme on sustainable urban development into a globally recognised platform for government-industry collaboration.

He said the initiative was discussed in detail during a meeting with John Dutton, Head of UpLink.

The minister said discussions were also held with cyber security major Cloudflare regarding its participation in the ‘KWIN City’ project and expansion in the state.

Proposed between Dabaspet and Doddaballapur, ‘KWIN City’ is envisioned as a sustainable ecosystem aimed at attracting global talent.

Cloudflare’s Global Strategy Head, Stephanie Cohen, described Karnataka as one of the "world’s best destinations for advanced technologies," Patil added.

The minister said that US-based space technology companyVast Space has expressed interest in partnering with the state government in space technology and advanced manufacturing.

UAE-based multinational business group Crescent Enterprises has also shown interest in investing in the state, he added.

Patil said US-based aerospace firm Voyager Technologies has expressed strong interest in a partnership with the state government and has also proposed collaboration with ISRO.