An official announcement in this connection was made by the Ambassador of the UAE to India, Mohammed Sultan Al Owais, in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
A consulate office of the UAE will start functioning in the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala within the next three months.
An official announcement in this connection was made by the Ambassador of the UAE to India, Mohammed Sultan Al Owais, in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy; Federal Minister of State for Human Resources Development (HRD) Shashi Tharoor; and Non-resident Keralites Affairs Minister K C Joseph here on Saturday.
The ambassador told Khaleej Times that it will be a full-fledged consulate like the one in Mumbai. It will have three diplomats and supporting staff. The ambassador said the consulate will also give a big boost to the commercial ties between Kerala and the UAE.
Thanking the UAE government on behalf of the state government, the Chief Minister said the consulate will help in bringing further investments into the state.
Tharoor said the opening of the UAE consulate in Kerala will encourage other countries to set up similar facilities in the state. He said Sri Lanka was scheduled to announce its consulate in Trivandrum within the next three weeks.
A UAE consulate in Kerala was a long-standing demand of Non-resident Keralites in UAE. The demand gained strength after the UAE made certificate attestation compulsory for visa. The problem was solved to a large extent after the federal government allowed Kerala to open attestation centres in the state.
However, people travelling to the UAE for various purposes had to go either to New Delhi or Mumbai for various other documentations.
