Santosh Patnaik

Thestage is set to host the 31st edition of CII Partnership Summit-2026 here on Thursday with the Andhra Pradesh Government setting a target to sign MoUs envisaging an investment of around Rs11 lakh crore on November 12 and 13.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has been aggressively campaigning to rebuild the State and project it an ideal destination by holding a series of roadshows in India as well as abroad, arrived here on Wednesday to oversee last-minutes for the mega event and hold discussions with the business leaders and key delegates.

The theme of the summit is "Navigating the New World Order: Trade, Technology, Trust and Thought Leadership.'

Naidu, in a post on X, said on Wednesday: "Visakhapatnam, the City of Destiny, is all set to host the 31st CII Partnership Summit, beginning tomorrow! A very warm welcome to all delegates arriving with fresh ideas and big aspirations. The summit will bring together industry stalwarts and inspiring leaders, with Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji and Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal ji joining the inaugural session. As a new day dawns on our eastern coast, we look forward to unlocking new opportunities and taking Andhra Pradesh’s growth story to greater heights!"

The summit being hosted for the second time in a row in a year here has sought investments in renewable energy, space, defence engineering, logistics, global trade and agriculture. It will attract around 3,800 delegates from across the world along with Vice President of India CP Radhakrishnan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister for Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. "Following the directive from CM Naidu and TDP national working president and IT Minister Nara Lokesh, we are highlighting Speed of Doing Business as the USP of Andhra Pradesh," Industries Minister TG Bharat, told Bizz Buzz.

The summit will have a special plenary moderated by World Economic Forum (WEF) on 'Powering India's Energy Future' country-specific sessions involving Japan, UAE, Russia and Africa and an exclusive ministerial plenary to facilitate engagement for global economic partnerships and networking.

As a prelude to the mega event, Andhra Economic Development Board, which is hosting the summit in association with the CII and the Department of Promotion Industry & Internal Trade, Government of India, held five regional summits across the State and 11 domestic and international roadshows.

The 30th edition of CII Partnership Summit held exactly a year ago, had attracted MoUs worth Rs13.25 lakh crore. During regional summits conducted in Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, Tirupati, Anantapur and Kakinada, fresh investment proposals with an outlay of Rs86,000 crore were signed.