New Delhi, 13 Dec (KNN) The state of Uttar Pradesh is showcasing its diverse business ecosystem along with vast investment opportunities across key sectors such as food processing, tourism, textiles, healthcare and the MSMEs at the India Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai. 

It will be promoting its key sectors, government initiatives and cultural heritage with various business focused sessions and performances till 23rd December, which started on 10th December with a recorded inaugural address by the Chief Minister of UP Yogi Adityanath, as published in TradeArabia.

This was followed by the virtual keynote address from Sidharth Nath Singh, Minister for MSME, Textile and NRI, and Satish Mahana, Minister for Industrial Development in the presence of senior state government officials including Maneesh Chauhan, Director, Industries and Dr Muthukumarasamy B, Special Secretary, Infrastructure & Industrial Development Department.

The state is developing a defence corridor to create a manufacturing ecosystem that will not only support the Indian defence enterprises but will also develop products for exports. 

The defence corridor policy is one of the major policies of the state government that is on display in the India Pavilion during the ongoing ‘State Week.’

Outlining the business-friendly initiatives associated with the state’s defence corridor policy, Dr Muthukumarasamy said: "We are developing six nodes -- Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Kanpur and Lucknow under Defence Corridor. We have strong ancillary base to support the needs of defence manufacturing and ensuring continuous supply of raw materials, labour and other needs of the industry."

The state has existing manufacturing bases that include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and we also have prominent ordinance factories in Uttar Pradesh -- Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. 

"We are also focusing on Research & Development and innovation base, said Muthukumarasamy, adding that investors can come and invest in the six identified nodes. 

 To make it easier for the firms investing in the UP Defence Corridor in terms of connectivity, the state nodes are located on the expressways, which includes Bundelkhand Expressway that is in the completion stage. 

"There is no connectivity issue and manufacturing units will be well connected to the expressways," said the top official.

"We are mobilizing SME ecosystem, small scale units, which can come and invest. We are developing export-oriented manufacturing base for defence sector. We would like to bridge the market gaps and connect the ancillary units in the state to meet the requirements of defence Public Sector Units," he added.

As part of the state week, the UP delegation will be meeting potential investors, industry associations in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, and heads of global companies to explore trade and investment opportunities for the state. 

The discussions will be mostly around the handloom and textile, tourism and culture, healthcare and pharmaceutical, agro, food processing and dairy, education and skill development, infrastructure, defence, aerospace, homeland security, logistics and warehousing and electric vehicle manufacturing.

The team will highlight the sectoral advantages and policy frameworks, investor & sector perspectives, with representatives inviting investors to participate in the state’s success. 

The delegation will also participate in ‘Elevate’, the start-up pitching session organised by Invest India on 14th December and attend sessions on India’s education system on December 15. 

The state will host an array of cultural performances and food festival throughout the week to highlight the state’s cultural diversity and heritage.