Heads of various Corporates have met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and explored trade opportunities in the State with shipping and logistics and setting up of bioethanol plant being agreed upon on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Summit being held here on Monday. 

Captains of Tech Mahindra, Dassault Systems, Mitsui OSK Lines and Hero Group met the Chief Minister at the AP Pavilion and held discussions with the Chief Minister. Tech Mahindra CEO and MD, CP Gurnani said his Company will be working with the Andhra Pradesh government in the field of Skill Development. 

The Chief Minister wants to develop Visakhapatnam as a technology hub with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sought investments in that sector. In three months, we will be working with Andhra University in drafting syllabus for high-end technology for skill development, he said. The Chief Minister said that besides a Skill University, 30 Skill Colleges and 175 Skill hubs would be coming up in the State. 

Tech Mahindra subsidiary Assago Industries Pvt Ltd. would set up a Rs 250 crore ethanol manufacturing unit in the state. Executive Vice President of Dassault Systemes, Florence Verzelen also interacted with the Chief Minister who explained the various opportunities in skilling, technology and ports.

We had meaningful talks with the Chief Minister on skill development and new-age energy. We are interested in investing in the education sector and are looking forward to partnering with the State of Andhra Pradesh, she said. Later, a Swiss Parliament Member of Indian origin NiklausSamuel Gugger along with his team met the Chief Minister and discussed trade opportunities in Andhra Pradesh. 

Others who met the Chief Minister include, Mitsui OSK Lines President Takeshi Hashimoto and Hero group CMD Pawan Manjul. Hashimoto has said that they have discussed opportunities in the areas of shipping and logistics. The Chief Minister said to focus on the container hub and logistics. The four new ports would increase the shipment cargo to 507 metric tons annually. 

Andhra Pradesh has great potential and we plan to expand our Indian operations as the State has a long coastline. The four new seaports coming up in the State make the atmosphere more conducive. The Hero group CMD discussed the expansion plans in the State and providing water to its Tirupati facility. There was also discussion on the growing need for electric vehicles.