Copyright deccanchronicle
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met UK’s Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami in London and the two discussed ways to strengthen the ties between Andhra Pradesh and prominent British universities.Naidu held a series of high-level meetings in London to deepen the state’s global partnerships in education, technology and industry. During his meeting with Doraiswami, the CM discussed collaborations between leading UK universities and AP in four key areas: life sciences, bio-genetics, mineral extraction and metallurgy. Both sides explored the possibility of joint ventures with central support and establishing university centres in AP. They also deliberated on student exchange programmes and research tie-ups in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, space technology, core engineering and marine industry 4.0. Naidu chaired a round-table conference with prominent industrialists and entrepreneurs to attract investments to Andhra Pradesh. Highlighting the state’s logistical strengths, he underlined the vast potential for cost-effective cargo movement through inland waterways. Plans are being drawn up to develop AP into a major logistics corridor, he told the delegates. The CM urged global engineering consultancy Arup to partner in developing water transport infrastructure within the state. Those who attended the round-table meeting included Arup Global Affairs director James Kenny, Alterin Tech executive director Freddie Wooland, PG Paper CEO Poonam Gupta, WMG University representative Gaurav Marwaha, Manchester University professor Radhaboya (Nanoscience), AI Policy Labs director Uday Nagaraju, Fluent Grid president Ratna Garapati, and British health industry association Representative Paul Benton. Naidu showcased AP’s emerging technology ecosystem, noting that Google is setting up a data centre in Visakhapatnam while an AI Quantum Computing Centre would be launched in Amaravati by January. Naidu emphasized opportunities in AI deployment, skill-building and ecosystem development, and invited the participants to attend the upcoming Global Investors Summit. Pointing to AP’s rich mineral resources, Naidu called for collaboration with international universities for the sustainable extraction of rare earth minerals to meet global demand. Senior officials from various departments took part in the meetings.
