Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu was during his ongoing Davos Summit’s sojourn has been called in certain quarters with a sobriquet, ‘The Original Man of Davos’. Naidu and Davos have become so synonymous over the past three decades that Davos has become a must-visit destination in his itinerary every year.

Representing an Indian State in Davos for 15 years since his first visit in 1997 along with H D Deve Gowda, the then CM of Karnataka, in terms of the present history is a considerable period. While it is true that many national leaders and heads of state, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese President Xi Jinping, or various European Commission Presidents, attend Davos frequently, they usually do so in the capacity as head of a nation. Perhaps, there cannot be any other sub-national political leader in the World, who had so many visits to Davos.

Two key questions arise for any Zen X generation who might chuckle seeing the rousing attention Naidu at Davos. The first question is that in this long association with Davos, what has Naidu achieved to his State and the country during his 15 visits; two, why was Naidu so sought after that became dear to many of the industrialists out there in Davos?

The results of any effort often match with the order of the world during that period. Naidu was instrumental in placing both India and Andhra Pradesh as an opportune place with the investor’s global investment map. Until then, no Indian state had its self-promotion system as the Centre handled the processes. Honestly, he was just a Chief Minister of a State, but he entered uncharted territory on which no other Chief Minister had dared to venture earlier. It was such a massive transformation that Naidu began being referred to as the CEO of Andhra Pradesh.

He virtually introduced Andhra Pradesh to the world as a possible investment destination. Naidu famously used the Davos platform to network with global tech leaders; telling India’s story echoing that India and Andhra Pradesh mean serious business.

Notwithstanding the number of MOUs signed, it was a relentless pursuit with the investors that decided the positive outcome. The first break to happen was undoubtedly, Microsoft establishing its first development centre outside the United States in Hyderabad. His persistent outreach eventually convinced Bill Gates in 1988. That gave the fillip and confidence for Naidu to strive to get more capital flow into Andhra Pradesh.

The initial years visits to Davos led to engagement with many global leaders and investors. These Davos interactions provided the international credibility needed to attract IT giants, leading to the establishment of HITEC city in Hyderabad, which today is a sprawling global technology hub.

The second major recognition came in the form of Naidu getting recognised by the World Bank. The global interactions both in Davos and in several other leading platforms paved the way for the World Bank to extend loans directly to Andhra Pradesh, a first for any Indian state, for economic restructuring. This was a direct result of Naidu’s governance and the reform-oriented practices ranging from collegiate technical education, livelihoods, electricity roads, that he promoted.

Until he lost elections in 2004, Naidu utilised the Davos platform to effectively position Andhra Pradesh as the best possible investment destination. He was in fact considered a pioneer in effectively utilising the platform to brand build Andhra Pradesh. The then capital of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, has seen a steady flow of IT companies starting with Microsoft and continued have the likes of MNC biggies like, Oracle, Deloitte, etc along with Indian IT biggies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Satyam and others who established huge campuses. Naidu effectively made Hyderabad which was largely a tourist place of historical importance to a bustling IT City which works on cutting edge technologies in just a span of about seven years.

He participated in the WEF conferences continuously from 1997 to 2004. Naidu’s visits helped establish not only Andhra Pradesh, but India as a credible investment destination on the world stage. It also instilled in industrialists the belief that “Andhra Pradesh means Business”.

The irony is that the same recognition for Naidu from world’s institutions, including the World Bank and others was exploited shrewdly by the then opposition in the State, Congress Party, while Communists branded him as the pawn in the alleged evil designs of WB and other organizations which led to his downfall in 2004. But then, he took it as professional perils of being involved in reform-oriented governance. He continued with his reform zeal even when out of power thus making him the darling of professionals. The seeds of development thus laid by Naidu did not go futile. IT companies grew manifold in the next ten years.

Naidu was on a renewed mission post bifurcation of the State. It is a mission as he needs to rebuild an entire state. During 2014-19 his visits to Davos were instrumental in getting companies like Airbus, Pioneer Hitachi, Med Tech, etc along with many Indian companies. The dialogues in Davos helped AP to organize three industrial conferences in the state between 2014-19 resulting in lakhs of crores of agreements.

Coming to the present times, the present visit to Davos has its own challenges. The real ambition of Andhra Pradesh is not just to attract investment but to attract the right kind of capital. The business and world dynamics that led to the success in the late 90s and early millennium have changed. Not only are the world’s geopolitical flavours getting changed frequently, but even business perspectives have also changed. Andhra seeks to become a strong force in AI, green storage energy, advanced manufacturing, space, reduction of emphasis on fossil fuels etc. Destinations like Davos are no longer just a marketplace where MOUs can be made just like that. Global investors are now looking at intellectual inputs.

Chandrababu Naidu’s consistent participation in Davos investment summits to promote investments for Andhra Pradesh and in turn for India, continues to be a trailblazer for Indian leaders at Davos.

WEF Davos can be said to be a part of Naidu’s turn-around story of Andhra Pradesh. He can be rightly called as the original Davos Man at least in Indian shores.

(The writer is a spokesperson of TDP and Chairman of AP Bio-Diversity Board)