Amaravati, Dec 11 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday met a delegation from Google and discussed potential areas for collaboration.

The Chief Minister said that following up on the MoU signed between the state government and Google, he met the delegation led by its Vice-President Bikash Koley.

“Our new progressive industrial policies have created a business-friendly ecosystem, attracting investors, and paving the way for employment opportunities,” Naidu said in a post on X.

“The delegation offered me an overview of their operations and shared their ambitious plans in India. I am proud that Andhra Pradesh has been identified as a key partner. During the meeting, we also discussed various potential areas for collaboration,” he said.

“I am confident that collaborations with global technology leaders such as Google will empower our state, ultimately contributing to India's digital growth story. Looking forward to working together to bring these initiatives to fruition,” Naidu added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also mentioned about the MoU with Google during the conference of District Collectors on Wednesday.

He was all praise for Minister for Information Technology and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, for the signing of the MoU.

He said due to the efforts of Lokesh, Google has come forward to set up its operations in Visakhapatnam and hoped that this would boost the development of the port city.

Google announced on December 5 that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to accelerate the deployment and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the state.

This collaboration will drive the development and implementation of AI solutions, focussing on key sectors like healthcare and sustainability, while also prioritising digital infrastructure enhancements, AI skills development, and support for the local startup ecosystem, the company.

The MoU exchange took place in Amaravati, in the presence of Nara Lokesh, between Bikram Singh Bedi, Vice President and Country MD, Google Cloud India, and S Suresh Kumar, Secretary of Real Time Governance Society, Andhra Pradesh.

Under this MoU, Google will collaborate with the Andhra Pradesh government to integrate AI and ML solutions in critical areas such as healthcare, and environmental sustainability.

The collaboration will also focus on promoting skill development and bridging the digital divide by providing citizens with the necessary training and resources to thrive in an AI-driven economy.

Additionally, Google will collaborate to support the state's startup ecosystem, to fuel innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of AI.