Vizag all set to host GIS from tomorrow

Visakhapatnam: The port city is all set to host the prestigious two-day global investors summit from March 3. The two-day summit is expected to host over 20 business sessions and several top honchos of different industries from India and abroad will be participating in the grand event.The GIS will focus on 13 sectors which will include aerospace, defence, automobile, food processing, electronics, IT, healthcare and medical equipment, textile, infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy, skill development, etc.

Some of the participating delegates are scheduled to speak during the morning session on the first day of the summit. This will be followed by the signing of MoUs. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is also scheduled to interact with the industrialists.

This summit, sources said, aims to attract an investment of over Rs 2 lakh crore. It is also significant because, the Chief Minister would be explaining the advantage of Visakhapatnam and as investment hub and will reassure them that he as the state executive would start functioning from here very soon. The possibility of announcing a date for his shifting to Visakhapatnam is also not ruled out. The State government will show case the strong presence of Defence Public Sector Units. The state is home to the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam and Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Sriharikota and the Hindustan Shipyard.

The other major sector that would be highlighted will be agriculture which occupies premier position. The state ranked 1st in production of oil palm, papaya, lime, coconut, cocoa, tomato, and chillies, marine exports, production of eggs, fish, shrimp production, etc. It stood at 2nd position in paddy, maize, mango, sweet orange, cashew and turmeric in 2021-22. In Milk and meat production it was at 4th position and ranked 1st in food processing units in 2019-20. Similarly, the summit will explain why Andhra Pradesh is the Only State in India with four dedicated Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC). On Day 2, MoUs and investments will be signed. This would be followed by a parallel session on Petroleum and Petrochemicals, Higher Education, Tourism and Hospitality would be held. The other sessions include Skill development, Textiles and Apparels, Pharmaceuticals and Life sciences. While Western Australia expressed interest in these sessions, Vietnam seems to be interested in the tourism and hospitality sector.