UAE to open consulate in Kerala tomorrow

Abu Dhabi - The office will function at a building in Manacaud junction of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram.

The UAE will open its consulate in the south Indian state of Kerala on Wednesday, a UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said.

The office will function at a building in Manacaud junction of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala chief minister's office official said.

"It is expected to open at 4 pm and many top officials are set to be in attendance," the official said.

UAE ambassador to India Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Banna, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department vice-chairman and LuLu Group MD MA Yousuf Ali and other top officials from the UAE and India will attend the ceremony.

UAE Consul-General Jamal Hussein Al Zaabi will manage the affairs in Kerala.

In August, Al Zaabi had presented his credentials to Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Kerala chief minister had congratulated the UAE consul-general on his new post and wished him success in his duties. They had touched on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and boost them in economic and investment fields.

Al Zaabi has also held a meeting with Indian vice-president Hamid Ansari. They discussed issues of common concern.

The new consulate will help be a big relief for thousands of people from south India as they need not go to the UAE Embassy in Delhi or Consulate General in Mumbai for visa and attestation process.

A welcome move

TP Seetharam, former Indian Ambassador to the UAE

The consulate in Kerala will cover the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. This is a beginning of so many new things that can happen between the two countries. The consulate will be responsible for boosting trade ties. It will be engaged in events like Kochi biennale. The consul general will be travelling to see all the places. Medical tourism can be developed. This is a big positive for the UAE too. Now, the UAE has an eye in Kerala.

Shamsheer Vayalil, Kerala NRI commission member and VPS Healthcare managing director

I attended the opening of the UAE consular section and visa processing centre in New Delhi on Monday. You can feel the warmth between both the nations. The consulate in Kerala will be a pinnacle of bilateral ties. This will provide easy access to people to come to the UAE. It goes without saying the precious time saved by people with such a facility at home. Not only will it bolster the trade relationship but will help the tourism sector too.

MA Yousuf Ali, Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department vice-chairman and LuLu Group MD

We have 2.8 million Indians here and majority is from Kerala. I thank the UAE rulers for giving instructions to open a consulate in the state of Kerala. All Keralites are happy as they needn't travel 2,000 km to Mumbai. This is good for those in other South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The bilateral ties are getting stronger. As the director board member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry I will strive to promote UAE-India ties.

M Thomas Varghese, Indian Social and Cultural Centre president

A consulate in Kerala is a very effective move. A large chunk of the population from the south Indian states will benefit from this. This is a move in the right direction and helps the common man. Earlier, people had to travel to New Delhi and Mumbai for visa and certificate attestation process but now they have a facility in Thiruvananthapuram.

Muneer Paandiyala, Sheikh Zayed Peace Conference programme coordinator

This is a big boon for people from south India. This is a new step in the bilateral ties.  The consulate will help hundreds of thousands of Non-Resident Keralites save time and money as one had to travel to Mumbai or New Delhi for services like visas and attestations. The consul general will also get to know about the state of Kerala in a better way and can explore opportunities in the state.

• India

Ashwani Kumar

• ashwani@khaleejtimes.com