Vishakapatnam to house second American hub in India

If all goes as planned, Vishakapatnam will be the only second city in the country to house the US hub. Ahmedabad is the only other city in the country to have the American hub so far.

An American delegation led by Consul General Joel Reifman called on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the camp office here on Tuesday and showed interest in setting up the hub in Vishakapatnam

During the interaction, Consul General Joel Reifman said they had visited Visakhapatnam and were very satisfied with the facilities. He said US government is interested in setting up the hub in Visakhapatnam.

The Chief Minister requested the Consul General to set up an incubator center in Vishakapatnam similar to Delhi. He assured him of all facilities required to set up an incubator center in Vishakapatnam. He welcomed the decision to set up American Hub in Vishakapatnam and asked for US cooperation in developing Vishakapatnam as a smart city.

The Chief Minister said that the Consul General should take the initiative to further enhance mutual cooperation between the US and Andhra Pradesh and they would also work together in that direction. Recognizing the importance of the English language, it was decided to implement English as the medium of instruction in all government schools, he said.

The Chief Minister affirmed that Andhra Pradesh is the most favorable state for investment as it has a vast coastal area. He also said that there will be great economic development with the construction of ports and the government is laying special attention on manufacturing electronic goods. The Consul General should take the initiative to invest in the state and the government will provide full assistance, he said. He explained that there are good opportunities for investment in the field of infrastructure and electronic products.

Meanwhile, US Consul General Joel Reifman appreciated the various programmes and welfare schemes being implemented by the state government and coined them as revolutionary. He particularly lauded the village and ward secretariat system, taking governance to the village level and door delivering government schemes through volunteers.

He appreciated the fact that the benefits of all schemes were credited to the beneficiaries' accounts through direct benefit transfer (DBT) without any scope for corruption which reflects the integrity of the government, by taking up social audit. He praised the state government's performance during the Covid pandemic and in controlling the virus spread.

The delegation which met the Chief Minister included Consulate officials David Moyer and Sean Ruthe