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US industry eyeing AP for ventures, says Celeste

Our Correspondent in Hyderabad

The United States of America will set up a commercial office in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Disclosing this at an interactive session between a 20-member US business delegation and Andhra Pradesh officials on Wednesday, the US ambassador to India, Richard S Celeste, said that the trade mission had come to Hyderabad to explore the possibilities for investment and collaboration in joint ventures in power, goods manufacture, software technologies, knowledge-based industries, telecommunications and infrastructure.

"This is my first visit to Hyderabad. There has been dramatic change in your city and state," Celeste told Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. "Your Vision-2020 for Andhra Pradesh has attracted attention in the United States," he added.

He said that the investors and entrepreneurs in the US, including Non Resident Indians, were eager to do business with Andhra Pradesh, since the state has a lot of potential.

The US leads in terms of foreign investment in AP. As on November 1, 1999, as many as 81 units having US investment of Rs 27.53 billion, were at various stages of implementation in the state, Naidu said. "The US is our most important source of foreign technology.... The climate for bilateral trade is improving and businessmen from both countries are very optimistic about longer-term opportunities."

India has the second largest pool of software workers in the world. This large workforce is continually strengthened by the addition of 60,000 software workers every year with technical degrees and another 50,000 with application programming certificates. According to a study, 23 per cent of India's software professionals hail from Andhra Pradesh, Naidu observed. "We are committed to ushering in an era of electronic government in the state."

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Andhra Pradesh