Andhra Pradesh CM holds bilateral talks with pharma, varsities in Davos
Vijayawada: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met Hiroyuki Ishige, chairman of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Davos on Tuesday. Hiroyuki appraised the CM about the progress of JETRO activities in Andhra Pradesh. Later on, the Chief Minister explained how Andhra Pradesh is progressing by making use of technology for poverty alleviation.
The JETRO chairman said there is an increase in the number of Japanese companies in Andhra Pradesh. The Chief Minister responded by saying that he would like to welcome more Japanese companies to AP. The JETRO chairman invited the CM to the investors’ seminar which he is organising in Japan shortly.
The next meeting of the CM was held with Ms Kim Stratton, head of the International Commercial, Shire International. This is a Pharma company concentrating mainly on research and development. Kim told the chief minister that they are specialists in haemophilia treatment research, a field in which India is lagging behind other nations. Kim said they are interested in looking at public private partnership (PPP) in this area for research, development of treatment techniques and capacity building.
She added that at present they have a very small presence in India and that it’s just the beginning of their journey. The CM urged Kim to make Amaravati the headquarters of Shire for its Indian operations.
The CM held the next meeting with Nicholas Dirks, Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley. Mr Naidu noted that the University of California is already working with the state and said Solomon Darwin from their university has done a good work in Mori, Andhra Pradesh. Nicholoas Dirks took a keen interest and enquired about the evolution and progress of Andhra Pradesh.
Later, the CM spoke about the various activities in the state and explained how Amaravati will turn out to be a better place of learning, and also as an education and knowledge hub. The CM stressed that University of California and AP should collaborate and explore the possibilities of creating a knowledge society.
University of Berkeley has an alliance with Cambridge and also with the National University of Singapore. The CM opined that they also should collaborate with one of the Universities in Andhra Pradesh.
He also urged Nicholoas Dirks to visit Andhra Pradesh soon. Nicholoas Dirks is chairman of the WEF global universities leadership forum. He said he would speak to some of the universities to associate with Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Naidu held a meeting with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in Davos. During the meeting, the CM explained the various technological initiatives that are being taken by the government in AP. He also spoke at length on the technology that AP is using for real-time governance. The chief minister mentioned that he is keen on increasing the digital transactions which is at 30 per cent now to 70 per cent by March this year.
Satya Nadella offered to collaborate with the state in the areas of e-governance and cyber security. Nadella suggested that AP should nurture hybrid cloud technology and that it will be a great leap in technology for India and AP.
Microsoft has recently acquired LinkedIn and it is working closely with the Singapore government. The skill profile of the population, professionals etc. are also digitised, the Microsoft CEO said, and added that the same be replicated in Andhra Pradesh also. Satya Nadella and the CM agreed to make significant progress in hybrid cloud technology by the time the next annual meeting is held at Davos within a year.
Naidu is keen on improving environmental collaboration
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu held many meetings and discussed development issues with heads of organisations and officials in Davos on Tuesday. Mr Naidu began the day with a meeting with Ms Marie-Ange Debon, CEO of SUEZ environment.
Water management and waste management were the focus sectors during the talks. Suez Environment S.A. is a France-based utility company operating largely in water treatment and waste management sectors.
The company has its presence in India also. The Chief Minister said that the government was keen on exploring the possibilities of collaborating and using expertise of the firm in pollution control in industrial areas besides water treatment and waste-to-energy projects.
The Chief Minister invited Ms Marie-Ange Debon to Andhra Pradesh. “Our teams can sit down and study the possible areas of collaborations,” said the Chief Minister. In Jordan, 10 per cent of water used for irrigation is from the treatment plants run by this company.
The chief minister also met Bruno Sauter, General Manager of the Office for Economy and Labour, Zurich State Government. Mr Sauter appreciated the presence of the Andhra Pradesh leader in Davos. He called it a sister-state relation that exists between Andhra Pradesh and Zurich state. “Zurich is very advanced in technological initiatives. Both our states can collaborate,” said Mr Sauter.
The chief minister spoke about the technological initiatives taken in Andhra Pradesh and inquired about the digital initiatives in banking and cyber security in Switzerland. Mr Sauter assured that a delegation will visit Andhra Pradesh soon.
