Andhra Pradesh is ideal destination acting as Gateway to East: CM Reddy at Davos

May 22, 2022

Davos [Switzerland], May 22 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday met various global industry leaders on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Meet after he inaugurated the AP Pavilion in Davos and discussed the strategic priorities of the state.
The Chief Minister met Prof Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, WEF at Davos Congress Centre. Prof Schwab was impressed with the state of Andhra Pradesh which acts as the Food Hub of India and has the largest rice belt.
He also emphasized the important role which could be played by the state in addressing the food shortages. Prof Schwab welcomed the advanced manufacturing partnership and extended commitment of the WEF during the meeting of the objectives laid out in the agreement.
CM Jagan has discussed the strategic priorities of the state such as Transforming Governance, Investing in future in areas of education, healthcare, skilling; economic growth and recovery, infrastructure development and port-led industrialization, and more importantly how the Forum platform can be leveraged to meet the Environment and Social Governance objectives of the state.
Followed by the discussion with Prof Schwab, the Chief Minister met Dr Shyam Bishen, Head of Health and Healthcare, World Economic Forum.
Dr Shaym Bishen discussed collaborating with the Forum on healthcare, biotechnology and innovation. He regarded the initiatives taken by the Andhra Pradesh government in building a Resilient Healthcare system through the YSR Village Health Clinics for every 2,000 population, village or ward secretariats decentralised system, ensuring schemes and service benefits to all citizens, Universal Health Coverage - Dr YSR Arogyasri - End-to-end cashless health care services and among others.
Further, the chief minister looked up the platform for Health and Healthcare of the WEF to explore actionable partnerships to scale up the state-wide health initiatives and to set up the Multi-Specialty Hospitals across the districts.
Later, the chief minister met Hans-Paul Burkner, Global Chairman, BCG. Burkner discussed opportunities emerging in India and specifically, the state of Andhra Pradesh with the global diversification of supply chains.
He emphasized the importance of having a Single-Point interface to ensure seamless facilitation of investments. He regarded the availability of land and transparent labour contracts as of utmost importance to global investors, in addition to accessibility to connectivity and infrastructure.
The chief minister also emphasized that the state's first rank on EoDB ratings, and given the port-led infrastructure and accessibility to the ports, Andhra Pradesh is the ideal destination acting as the gateway to the east.
Hans-Paul Burkner also noted the investments and initiatives being taken by the state in ensuring primary education and healthcare is reached to all, and skill development programs with efficient labour contract will attract investors to the state.
Petro Gomez, Head of WEF Mobility and Sustainability Division met the Chief Minister. He had a brief interaction with the Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray and also with Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group of Companies.