The mayor of Menlo Park, a global technology and financial hub in the heart of US Silicon Valley, said that her city will play a lead role in bringing US companies to Kochi and developing infrastructure facilities in the park. “Kochi is emerging as a global player in IT and start-up culture. We are really impressed by the kind of ecosystem being created by the government. We will help the US companies to establish their operations in the city and in turn also help the start-ups in Kochi to grow,” said Ms Catherine Carlton at the Infopark campus here. She also added that up to 100 technology startups from Kerala could be given a chance to travel to the Silicon Valley to learn about the nuances of building a billion dollar tech company.

Menlo Park in California is home to a number of technology giants including Facebook, and is known as the “capital for venture capital”. InfoPark CEO Hrishikesh Nair said that the tie-up with Menlo Park would further boost the growth of IT and start-ups in the state. The delegation visited Kochi before signing of the twin city agreement between Kochi and Menlo Park establishing social, cultural and economic tie-ups. The signing took place in the state capital on February 11, 2015 in the presence of Chief Minister Mr Oommen Chandy. It is the first such agreement between an Indian city and Menlo Park.