Andhra CM N Chandrababu Naidu to tour China from tomorrow; attend WEF meet

Naidu would have a meeting with the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum during the trip

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will embark on a five-day tour to China starting tomorrow during which he will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting and seek investments for the state.

"The primary purpose of this visit is the three-day World Economic Forum annual meeting in which the chief minister is participating as a contributor in two sections. One is regarding the cities and the other is regarding agriculture," Parakala Prabhakar, advisor (Communications) to the Andhra Pradesh government, told reporters here today.

"During the World Economic Forum conference, the chief minister is scheduled to have about 20 meetings with trade and industry leaders from across the globe," Prabhakar, who is also part of Naidu's delegation, said.

Naidu would have a meeting with the founder and executive chairman of the WEF, Klaus Schwab, he said.

After the WEF meeting, the delegation would head to Guizhou province and ink a memorandum of understanding with the province (looking) to forge a sister state relationship, he said.

On the Opposition's criticism of Naidu's foreign trips, he said that it is unfounded as the objective of the visits is to promote investments in the state and to tell investors abroad that Andhra Pradesh, with its long coastline, also offers ports, 24x7 electricity, water and huge land bank.

When asked about the ongoing shifting of Andhra Pradesh government employees from the common capital of Hyderabad to the upcoming capital, Amaravati, near Vijayawada, Prabhakar said that the process has begun and is expected to gain momentum after June 27.

"Our timelines are from June 27th, the shifting is going to gain momentum. Already, a lot of employees have begun moving to Vijayawada, Amaravati, Guntur. Departments of Information and Public Relations, Culture, Agriculture, Civil Supplies have shifted. A major portion of Health department has shifted. Very actively, this process is going on. June 27 onwards, it would gather momentum," he said.

Replying to a query on the future (use) of secretariat buildings in Hyderabad, he said, "After the shifting gets completed, we will then take a call on that."