Jagan heading to WEF Davos to showcase AP potential

Visakhapatnam: For the first time the pandemic broke out, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be leading a high-level team to the 52nd annual meeting of World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos scheduled to be held from May 22 to 26.

Officials making arrangements for the WEF meeting say they will have targeted discussions on mutual avenues of collaboration, in areas such as sustainable manufacturing, logistics, financial and capital markets, FMCG and consumer goods, renewable energy and technology services.

As AP is taking steady steps towards inclusive, sustainable development goals, the team is expected to meet the global leaders at WEF-2022 to translate the State's sustainable developmental measures into long-term investment in sustainable solutions.

The logo and brochure for AP was released at Tadepalli near Vijayawada by Minister for Commerce, Infrastructure and Industries Gudivada Amarnath on Thursday. Along with Amarnath, Finance Minister Bugganna Rajendranath, MP MIthun Reddy and several officials from Industries Department, APIIC and AP Economic Development Board (APEDB) will attend.

The event, originally slated for January 17 to 22 was put off due to the pandemic. This will be the biggest global platform where AP will be exploring opportunities for investment and partnership in healthcare, skill development and renewable energy and other areas.

The WEF meeting in Switzerland will bring together around 2,200 business leaders, international political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists to discuss global, regional, and industry challenges.

Prominent global leaders attending the meeting include over 200 federal and sovereign Ministers of leading developed and emerging countries and global business leaders.

Amarnath said apart from that Ministers from the Union Cabinet and leaders from major Indian businesses such as Reliance Industries, Jubilant Group, Tata Sons, Hero Group, Aditya Birla Group, Bharti Enterprises, will attend.

The Minister said under the guidance of the Chief Minister, AP is now elevated from being a Forum Member Associate at the WEF to the prestigious position of "Forum Platform Partner", by signing the "Platform Partnership for Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains" with the WEF.

The agreement will be signed in the presence of Prof Klaus Schwabb, Founder and Chairman of WEF. The Platform partnership is aligned with the development and growth priorities of the government. Various areas of engagements with the Platform include new innovative and strategic business models under advanced manufacturing, global networks of manufacturing, strengthening competitiveness of MSMEs, upskilling/reskilling workforce for advanced manufacturing, net zero manufacturing endorsing ESG compliance, global value-chains through port-led development and promoting exports.

By virtue of the partnership, AP Government will have access to full participation in the CEO-level interactions, public figure dialogues, projects and workshops of the platform. The partnership will also grant access to join peer-level communities of common interest such as industry action groups and strategy officers communities, annual meetings and high-level exchanges including its Sustainable Development Impact Summit and global virtual discussions.

In a release, the Chief Minister's Office quoted Berge Brende, President of WEF having said "your (CM's) commitment to building Andhra Pradesh on the foundations of transparency, the decentralization of power, and technological innovation is noteworthy."