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Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT and Electronics, Nara Lokesh has requested former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pepsico Indra Nooyi to help build brand Andhra Pradesh.

Lokesh, who is currently on a visit to the United States, had a meeting with her on the campus of the IT Survey Synergy Summit in Las Vegas.

According to an official statement here on Wednesday, he sought the support of Indra Nooyi in the efforts being made by the state government to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Claiming that Andhra Pradesh is moving swiftly in development by implementing investor-friendly policies under the able leadership of the visionary Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, he urged the IT companies to become partners in rebuilding the State in technology and manufacturing sectors.

Lokesh urged the former CEO of Pepsico to showcase the Andhra Pradesh government's commitment to the industrial community in implementing the policies on renewable energy projects, green initiatives and environmentally friendly industrial policies. The state government is sincerely working to encourage women's leadership, he said and requested Indra Nooyi to share her views with the state government to empower women in various fields.

Maintaining that the state government is moving forward to empower the youth by improving skills in education and technology, Lokesh urged her to formulate mentoring programmes for the youth to achieve these targets.

Lokesh said that the state government was expecting the support of IT companies to encourage investments in the state and build Brand Andhra Pradesh. Indra Nooyi responded positively and promised to extend her cooperation to get investments to the State.

Lokesh also met with Salesforce CEO Clara Shih and sought his cooperation to launch AI-skilling programmes in Andhra Pradesh. He said the state was focussing on smart governance and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven economy.

Lokesh urged Clara Shih to prepare the workforce to impart skill development in the youth for AI-based industries and become partners with educational institutions to impart hands-on training to the youth in Salesforce AI certification programmes. The minister also requested the CEO to become mentors in local start-ups and supply AI tools to them.

Lokesh made a request to Clara Shih to introduce Einstein AI to the state to improve the services of Customer Relationship Management and cooperate with the state government for better administration through AI-powered automation. The minister also asked the Salesforce CEO to explore the possibilities of becoming partners in smart city projects, traffic management and public safety along with urban planning.

Clara Shih said that Salesforce is mainly focussing on AI strategy monitoring, improving offers in Customer Relationship Management and Mission Learning and that the company is exercising on Einstein AI platform. Stating that the company is committed to utilising the AI services in the most responsible way in Public Sector projects, Clara Shih promised to discuss with the company partners the Andhra Pradesh government's proposals.