Andhra Pradesh Magazine English June 2016 | Page 39

Two Years of Accomplishments

Trust @ncbn Chandrababu Naidu to make a real pitch @Davos Andhra even had a
lounge on Promenade, 1st for a CM/State
- Shekhar Gupta, Senior Journalist on Twitter

H

e is no stranger to the
World Economic Forum,
the International
Organization for
Public-Private Cooperation. Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had
been a regular to Davos meet, which
is committed to improving the state
of the world.
During his previous stint as Chief
Minister of united Andhra Pradesh
between 1995 and 2004, Naidu was
a regular participant in the summit
and had moderated many sessions.
Soon after taking the reins of the
new Andhra Pradesh, Naidu moved
quickly to capitalise on the ‘Brand
AP’ image at World Economic
Forum.
During his 2015 visit, Naidu
addressed a special session on
'Investment in Andhra Pradesh'
organised by the state government.
He had bilateral meetings with
industrialists, businessmen and
experts from different fields on the
sidelines of the conference. He was
also a special guest at a session on
'Future of Urban Development'
along with ministers from various
countries and CEOs of major
corporations. He also participated
as a special guest at a session on
'Japan, Vision for Tomorrow’. He met
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, Wal
Mart International President, David
Cheesewright and Pepsico CEO
Indra Nooyi and interacted with
them. He also had an interaction
with Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Naidu took part in 35 events besides
meeting dozens of corporate
honchos. “This is my ninth visit.
India was able to generate a lot of
interest among the global
community,” he said about the visit.
JUNE 2016

Naidu said he asked companies like
Microsoft, Infosys and Wipro to set
up their campuses in
Visakhapatnam or other cities in AP
during his the meetings with top
executives, including Microsoft
founder Bill Gates.
In 2016 too, the Chief Minister has
moved quickly to capitalise on the
‘Brand AP’ image at World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Being the only Chief Minister from
India to be invited to the prestigious
meeting, Naidu made the best of the
opportunity to interact with the
who’s who of the business and
political world in this Swiss Alps
town.
The Forum, established in 1971 as a
not-for-profit foundation, engages
the foremost political, business and
other leaders of society to shape
global, regional and industry
agendas.
This year too, the CM held a series
of meetings with various CEOs of
top-notch companies across the
globe in Davos and impressed upon
the world business leaders of the
conducive investment climate
available in Andhra Pradesh. From
heads of global businesses such as
Lockheed Martin to Indian head
honchos including Tata’s Cyrus
Mistry, Chandrababu Naidu’s busy
schedule left no important
personality without a one-on-one
meeting.
Making a strong pitch before foreign
investors, Chandrababu Naidu said
the state offers great opportunities
in areas ranging from technology to
tourism to infrastructure to oil
refineries. "Now India is a happening country and Andhra Pradesh is a

ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

trend-setter and there are so many
opportunities available there in this
new state,” he told them.
Recognizing Andhra Pradesh’s
efforts in achieving profitable and
resilient agriculture, sustainable
food, economic and environmental
security, World Economic Forum
will partner with the Government of
Andhra Pradesh to implement an
agenda to make agriculture
profitable and commercially viable.
It has come forward to establish a
Secretariat in Andhra Pradesh.
During the Summit, Andhra Pradesh
government came out with an
innovative campaign on the streets
of Davos to attract investments to
the reorganised State.
The State government undertook a
unique initiative to project the
might of the reorganised AP as an
investment destination bringing it
to the doorstep of the Western
world. Executed with pleasing visuals - the state government has
branded a special bus with ‘Make AP
your Business’ posters.
The special vehicle made rounds in
the city towards attracting
investments for ‘Sunrise AP’.
Referring to how earnest was Naidu
in his understandng of the
importance of Davos and his handson-approach to the meet, Srivatsan
Rajan, chairman of Bain & Company
India, remarked, “Andhra Pradesh
was the only state that had a
presence, and its posters were
visible and distinctive. Its chief
minister, Chandrababu Naidu, was
zipping in and out of meetings,
trying to persuade business leaders
to invest in his state.”

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