Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu sought the expertise of Malaysian government and businesses in the development of Andhra Pradesh and promised to extend full support to their endeavours. While saying so, he acknowledged the fact that the sustainability of the emerging capital city Amaravati had to be studied for better planning.

In an interactive session with a Malaysian trade delegation led by its Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed, here on Tuesday, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was asked by a senior executive of IJM India Infrastructure to get the sustainability of Amaravati measured and rated globally not only for attracting investments but also setting benchmarks in urban designing for other cities in the world.

The Chief Minister replied that he would welcome experts in urban planning and designing to help A.P. in transforming Amaravati into a futuristic, self-contained city that is in harmony with nature. He said he was very much impressed with the Economic and Government Transformation Programs that the Malaysian Government’s Performance Enhancement and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) had undertaken and looked forward to its full involvement in shaping up Amaravati. The 15 per cent growth rate targeted for FY 2016-17 would open new vistas of development for those looking to harness the potential of A.P., he added.

Mr. Mustapa Mohamed said Malaysia and A.P. had a long record of ties and the Southeast Asian country was keen on building on the strong foundations laid more than two decades ago. “We are excited with the opportunities in Amaravati and will certainly utilise them. We will also share the best practices in governance and other areas that facilitated our growth into one of the economic powers to reckon with in these parts of the world.”

Open sessions

Ravindran Devagunam, Director of PEMANDU Labs, said it would organise ‘open sessions’ in the coming weeks to let the people of A.P. know about the outcomes of the work being done by the Malaysian organisation. “We will help A.P. in improvising governance services delivery and in rolling out IT applications,” he added.

Malaysian Consul General in Chennai, Ahmed Fajarazam and Malaysian Investment Development Authority Deputy CEO N. Rajendran were among those present.