Revanth hard sells TG to global investors at Davos
Chief Minister meets corporate leaders from Google, Unilever, UAE
On the first day of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting at Davos on Tuesday, the Telangana delegation led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy succeeded in inviting global companies, including Google, Unilever, companies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to invest in the state. The UAE government has announced plans to collaborate for development of Bharat Future City as a top global city near Hyderabad.
Minister of Economy and Tourism for the UAE Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri met the Chief Minister and discussed potential areas of cooperation in the state's large infrastructure projects, especially Bharat Future City. The Chief Minister threw light on the massive scope for development in the Bharat Future City project -- India’s first Net-Zero Greenfield Smart City. Spread over 30,000 acres, the city, envisioned as a multi-sectoral, sustainable urban-industrial hub with dedicated spaces for AI, education, health, industries, residential and entertainment zones. Touq Al Marri, known to be a key figure in UAE's economic diversification and modernization efforts, said his national government would be happy to join hands with Telangana. He suggested that the two governments establish a joint task force of officials from both sides for speedy implementation of this project.
Saudi-based industrial conglomerate Expertise announced to partner with Telangana's Young India Skills University. Mohammed Ashif, President & CEO, Expertise, expressed strong interest in partnering with YISU, during a meeting with the Chief Minister. The company, with a major presence in the Middle East, mainly provides plant maintenance in skilled talent-intensive sectors including petrochemical, oil & gas, fertilizer, steel, cement, water treatment, and power generation verticals.
Royal Philips, a health tech company, was keen on partnering with Telangana in AI, to explore setting up a knowledge hub. Company’s Vice President Jan Willem-Scheijgrond expressed interest in partnering with the state in the AI space.
The delegation explained Willem-Scheijgrond about the newly launched, dedicated Telangana Life Sciences Policy. With an ambitious target of building a $250 billion life sciences economy by 2030, the 'Telangana Next-Gen Life Sciences Policy 2026-2030' is extending benefits to medical electronics, among various other allied areas. Google's APAC President Sanjay Gupta announced that the organisation would fully support Telangana in traffic control, cybersecurity, agriculture, startups and climate change. Global consumer goods giant Unilever announced that it would explore setting up GCC in Hyderabad.
The Chief Minister met Willem Uijen, Chief Supply Chain & Operations Officer, Unilever and deliberated on the global FMCG major’s plans for setting up a Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Telangana. IT Minister D Sridhar Babu said Hyderabad is home to GCCs of several FMCG companies like McDonald's, Heineken and Costco. "Unilever is a prized partner of Telangana. Telangana is known for policy continuity and fast-paced approval and licensing process for businesses," he added. Discussions were also held on potential ways of aligning the company’s climate, water-positive, and plastic-reduction commitments with Telangana’s renewable energy, water stewardship, and circular-economy initiatives.
