Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu began his week-long visit to the United States of America today. On arrival, the Chief Minister received a warm welcome at the San Francisco International Airport from several enthusiastic Telugu NRI supporters.
Naidu held his first meeting with Mike McNamara, CEO, Flextronics. In his interaction with McNamara, the Chief Minister spoke about the enormous advantages Andhra Pradesh had to offer in terms of location and accessibility.
"Our state is centrally located in India's east coast, and is accessible to all South-East Asian countries. We have well-maintained airports and deep draft ports, and we provide 24x7 quality power. Also, our skilled labour force is an added advantage for companies who are looking at business-friendly destinations," he said.
He also highlighted what he claimed was the friendly business atmosphere in Andhra Pradesh, citing that the state stood first in the Ease of Doing Business rankings in India. He also informed McNamara about the digital initiatives being taken up by his government, and said that Andhra Pradesh was also a potential logistics hub of India. He emphasized that it was the right time for Flextronics to expand the scope of its existing operations in Visakhapatnam.
While McNamara expressed his intent to pursue his company's expansion plans soon, Naidu exhorted him to expedite things, and assured him all the needed help.
The Chief Minister immediately flew to Sacramento and met California Governor Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr, and provided an insight into the political atmosphere in the state and apprised him of the key role the Telugu Desam Party had been playing in the national politics over the years. He sought California's help in collaborating in areas such as technology, industry and agriculture.
When the Chief Minister met Simon Segars, CEO of ARM Holdings, the latter apprised him of his company's activities, and indicated that they were concentrating more on IOT. For his part, the Chief Minister explained how Andhra Pradesh was integrating technology in governance and taking welfare programs to the people.