VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday asserted that his trip to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum (WEF) had helped in branding Andhra Pradesh in the global arena.
“What India as a country could not do, Andhra Pradesh did. Now, it has come to a stage where people world over think India means Andhra Pradesh,” he said at a press conference at the Interim Government Complex near here.
Recounting his trip and the busy schedule in Davos, Mr. Naidu said he had conducted at least 50 bilateral meetings with international agencies. Many big companies evinced interest in setting up shop in AP and sharing know-how, he said.
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The Chief Minister said the oil major Saudi Aramco would send a team to the State in 15 days to explore the possibility of developing a refinery. Andhra Pradesh will then send a team to Saudi Arabia for further discussions. The Vedanta group assured him that it would adopt 100 anganwadi centres on a pilot basis. The group also evinced interest in setting up mineral based industries, he said.
“As part of sharing know-how,” Mr. Naidu said, “AP government will help in developing an industrial township in Sri Lanka. The entrepreneurs from here [AP] will set up their units there. Sri Lanka is strong in tourism and malaria eradication. [The] Sri Lankan government will extend cooperation in those fields.”
The University of Iowa would help in developing a seeds capital between Kurnool and Anantapur. Seed development, production, certification and export etc would be taken up in collaboration with the university, he said.
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When pointed out that Aramco’s proposed oil refinery project, along with a consortium, had not actually taken shape since 2010, Mr. Naidu said: “There was none to coordinate with such companies at that time. But now we have the right mechanism to coordinate.”
To another question on Japan-based Kumi Umi Asset Management Company’s promise to bring in an investment of $15-20 billion for the development of Tirupati, Mr. Naidu said a new township would also be developed between Tirupati and the Sri City Special Economic Zone. “It’s a big project,” he said.