Sultan set to get doctorate today
dubai — His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, began his four-day visit to Kerala, the south Indian state, on Monday.
Sheikh Sultan was received by Governor of Kerala Justice (Retd.) P. Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ministers, senior officials and businessmen from the state.
Sheikh Sultan’s visit is followed by an invite from Vijayan, who met the Ruler of Sharjah during his visit to UAE last December. The Kerala cabinet led by Vijayan, met Sheikh Sultan at the governor’s official residence and presented a roadmap of cooperation to the Ruler of Sharjah on Monday.
A family city and a Kerala cultural centre over 20 acres of land in Sharjah, were among the proposals submitted to the Sharjah Ruler. Vijayan said that out of the 20 acres, 10 acres would be to set up a family centre which will have apartment blocks and a hospital. The cultural centre would be a permanent venue for conducting cultural programmes and will have an Ayurveda centre.
Among the other projects put up before Sheikh Sultan includes a request for investment from Sharjah for a state-of-the-art hospital near the proposed Kannur international airport, scheduled to open next year.
The Kerala government said the state, with a good exposure in the field of IT, could be the venue for handling the back office operations of the Sharjah government and leading companies. Another proposal envisages to set up a state-of-the-art educational campus in Sharjah that would have quality schools and higher education centres, including medical and engineering colleges.
Before meeting the cabinet, the Sharjah Ruler held a discussion with Sathasivam. At the end of the meeting, the Ruler of Sharjah and the governor exchanged gifts.
Sultan’s programmes
On Monday evening, he was scheduled to meet selected members of the civil society and Kerala businessmen who have made their names in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, the Calicut University will confer upon him an honorary doctorate in a function at the governor’s residence in Kerala capital. He will also meet the chief minister at his official residence Cliff House in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, he would arrive in Kochi to attend a private function being organised by the Lulu Group chairman M.A. Yusuf Ali. The next day, he would return to Sharjah.