The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos recently, where they held meetings with world business leaders and executives. This year’s visit was, however, different in that it did not produce the crop of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) that had become the hallmark of Naidu’s previous trips.
There were apprehensions on account of these facts, considering that Naidu has built a robust network of international reach. The reply to this came from Naidu himself, saying, “There is no necessity to sign MOUs with Indian companies in Davos. The perception that attending Davos brings investments immediately is misplaced. Such deals can be struck locally. The actual importance of such events lies in the networking and improving the brand value of Andhra Pradesh”. We emphasized promoting the state as a business-friendly environment and also the speed and ease of doing business here.
Naidu also explained that even though he has signed many MOUs in the past, it is not necessary that those MOUs have become investment for the state. He wants to position Andhra Pradesh on the world map and build a reputation for it to attract meaningful long-term investments from international businesses.
It is geared toward creating lasting value as it focuses more on real business relationships other than the paperwork of global outreach, and Naidu’s vision is about lifting Andhra Pradesh’s visibility on international dimensions. This change of focus is likely to result in most tangible consequences for the future growth of the state.