Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Jan 9 (IANS) For the first time in nearly three years, Andhra Pradesh is set to bid for attracting investments when it hosts the 2012 Partnership Summit here from Jan 11.

After months of agitation over the demand for separate Telangana state and the political uncertainty, which saw the state losing the 2010 Summit to Chennai and cancellation of last year’s Global Investors’ Meet, the state would be holding the premier mega business event.

The state government says it has already received 140 investment proposals worth Rs.3.15 lakh crore, with a potential for employing 2.5 lakh people, for the three-day summit.

According to a statement from the chief minister’s office, the proposals cover mega projects, public sector undertakings and sectors like information technology, power, infrastructure and tourism.

Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with the theme “New Age Innovation Partnerships”, the event will see the participation of policy-makers and business delegations from about 30 countries.

The summit would be the platform for exploring the various facets of innovation that can drive future global growth and the role that India can play in fostering and strengthening the forces of such innovation.

The countries which have so far confirmed their participation include the United States, China, Italy, Israel, Kuwait, the Czech Republic, Mali, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and Zambia.

Singapore’s Goh Chok Tong, Ghana’s Hanna Tetteh, Sri Lanka’s Rishad Bathiudeen, United Arab Emirates’ Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Zambia’s Robert Sichinga, and Zimbabwe’s Welshman Ncube are among the ministers expected to participate in the summit.

The US delegation includes Senator Mark Warner, co-chair, Senate India Caucus, and Congressman Joseph Crowley, co-chair, Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon are among the prominent speakers from India.

There will be plenary sessions on subjects like “Global economic shocks: perfect storm ahead”, “The India and USA promise: partnership for progress”, “India and Africa: joining hands”, “India and China: a new dynamic”, “New drivers of development”, “Corporate global citizenship in the 21st century” and “A unified earth theory: combining solutions to extreme poverty and the climate crisis”.

The protests over the demand for a separate statehood to Telangana had forced the state government to cancel the Global Investors Meet (GIM) scheduled to take place in September last year. The event was earlier postponed twice because of the agitation.

The Partnership Summit in 2010 was also shifted to Chennai because of the Telangana row.

Political analysts say that by hosting the Summit, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy would be conveying to the business and industry that normalcy has been restored in Hyderabad and other parts of the state.

The cancellation of GIM and the Partnership Summit earlier had caused concern among the industry leaders as the state was missing opportunities to attract new investments and create employment.