BENGALURU: Nokia Corporation, one of the world’s leading telecommunications tech companies, has expressed interest in establishing a global capability centre and additional research centres in Karnataka, Minister MB Patil said on Friday.

Nokia, which has had a long-standing presence in the state for over 25 years and operates its largest global research centre in Bengaluru, has held discussions on expanding its operations across the state, including in tier-2 cities, he said.

During meetings with senior Nokia officials on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, the state government assured full support for the company’s future expansion plans, Patil said in a statement.

The minister also reiterated the state government’s commitment to supporting the World Economic Forum’s ’Yes-BLR UpLink’ initiative, which aims to develop the ‘Yes Bengaluru’ programme on sustainable urban development into a globally recognised platform for government-industry collaboration.

The industries minister said the initiative was discussed in detail during a meeting with John Dutton, Head of UpLink at the World Economic Forum.

According to the minister, discussions were also held with global cybersecurity major Cloudflare regarding its potential participation in the ‘KWIN City’ project and future expansion opportunities in the state.

Cloudflare’s Global Strategy Head, Stephanie Cohen, described Karnataka as one of the “world’s best destinations for attracting advanced technologies,” Patil added.