Dominican Republic Ambassador David Piug visited the University of Kerala here as part of ongoing efforts to formalise academic ties with the universities of the Latin American nation on Wednesday.
Kerala University will collaborate with universities in the Dominican Republic for research in various avenues including trade, agriculture, culture, political systems, translational studies and tropical medicine.
“The common geography between Kerala and the Dominican Republic and the sizeable Indian diaspora there offer promising possibilities for the academic communities of both places to engage in fruitful dialogue and research”, Mr. Piug said, while pointing out there are about 200 Indians and people of Indian origin residing in the Dominican Republic.
Expressing delight in forging institutional ties with the universities in the Dominican Republic, Kerala University Vice Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai said the collaboration would involve student faculty exchange, twinning programmes and promotion of joint research projects with faculty members.
Dominican Republic Embassy Third Secretary Francisco Soliman, University Pro-Vice Chancellor P.P. Ajayakumar, Registrar K.S. Anil Kumar, Centre for Latin American Studies Director Girish Kumar and Controller of Examinations N. Gopakumar also participated in the discussion.
According to university sources, India’s exports to the Dominican Republic are small but growing. Bilateral trade stands at around US$ 120 million with the main products of India’s exports being cotton textiles and ready made garments, drugs and pharmaceuticals, furniture, transport equipment, manufactures of metals, chemicals, plastic and linoleum products, tea, processed foods and marine products.
“The joint collaboration in the academic sphere seeks to delve deeper into such areas of trade. The other important areas include pharmaceuticals, information technology, tourism, mining and renewable energy, film and culture,” an official said.
An eight-member martial arts group “Hindustan Kalari Sangam” from Kerala that was sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) had performed two shows in Santo Domingo in 2010 in collaboration with the Dominican Republic government and the Dominican Ministry of Culture. The talks for several such bilateral cultural agreements have been initiated by the Ministry of External Affairs, the university said.
