A delegation from the US State Department met the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, today at the Secretariat and expressed interest on initiatives of mutual interest.
The delegation consisted of Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Puneet Talwar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Atul Keshap, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Kenneth Handelman, Consul General Micheal Mullins and others.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, during the meeting, the Chief Minister asked the officials to set up a US Consulate in Vijayawada.
“Most of the people flying to the US from the State hail from this region. Hence, it would be beneficial if you set up an office there,” he added.
Branch office
The US officials said that they would consider the possibility of setting up a branch office in Vijayawada. The officials also evinced interest in investing in India’s defence technologies.
Welcoming them to invest in AP, the Chief Minister explained that his focus is on manufacturing and service sector. “We want to focus on automobiles, electronics, agro-processing, petrochemicals and other areas too apart from IT,” he added.
He said that Andhra Pradesh has the potential to become the logistics hub for South East Asia where companies can manufacture goods and export to other countries through AP ports.
Capital city
On capital city, the Chief Minister informed them that Singapore is preparing the master plan for the capital city and that the work will start in another 2-3 months.
“Singapore Second Minister (Trade and Industry) S. Iswaran will be visiting us this month. So, we will begin the work in another 2-3 months,” the Chief Minister said.