The Mexican state of Jalisco is planning to promote innovation further by making it mandatory for the government to invest at least 2% of its annual budget in science and technology.

A legislative bill is currently in discussion at the state legislative house, reported Mexican papers, citing comments by Víctor Hugo Romo Guerra, the president of the state’s Commission of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

The idea is to place Jalisco at the forefront of technological development in the country, Romo Guerra has stated.

Investment in technology, he said, would pave the way for the creation of a knowledge society and boost the competence of the country in the global marketplace.

Considering his statement, the state has to create additional infrastructure for scientific inventions and strive to increase the size of its tech talent pool, one of the key draws for the foreign technology firms expanding to Mexico.

Jalisco’s capital Guadalajara has often been dubbed Mexico’s Silicon Valley, housing several of the world’s top technology firms including the likes of HP, IBM, and Oracle.

It has about 50 industrial and tech parks, hosts about 40% of Mexico’s high-end tech industry. In the third fiscal quarter of 2016, the state attracted $1.6 billion in foreign direct investment in its technology sector, according to the Institute of Statistical and Geographic Information.

Technological development brings in prosperity, makes governance transparent, and, most importantly, fosters a democratic culture in the society, he added.