‘Spicy food, speedy approvals’: Lokesh welcomes CII summit delegates to Vizag

IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh | Photo Credit: File photo Port city Visakhapatnam is set to host the 31st Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit 2026 at the Andhra University Engineering Grounds on November 12 and 13.Centred on the theme “Navigating the New World Order: Trade, Technology, Trust and Thought Leadership,” the global economic forum began with sessions on Wednesday covering MSME standards, the defence ecosystem and startup engagements with South Korea. The day culminated in a welcome dinner hosted by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.Setting the tone for the summit, IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh welcomed delegates to Visakhapatnam through a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Welcome to Vizag! In Andhra, ‘non spicy’ is a myth, not a menu option - Spicy food, speedy approvals. That’s the Andhra way. Welcome to the CII Partnership Summit 2026!” he posted.The two-day summit will bring together prominent policymakers, Union Ministers, business leaders and international delegations.The sessions will be led by Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Chirag Paswan and Nitin Gadkari. The international participation includes senior Ministers from the UAE, the Slovak Republic, Singapore, Canada, Nepal, Mauritius, Guatemala, Cambodia, Myanmar and Tanzania, besides World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director-General Daren Tang.Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO of ReNew, will share his insights on clean energy and the transition to a low-carbon economy.In a major push to industrial development, the summit is set to witness the signing of 141 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and the issuance of 30 Government Orders, involving investments worth ₹12,13,853.23 crore and carrying the potential to generate 2,46,373 jobs across various sectors.The agreements include a dedicated MoU with Kia and two pacts under the P4 initiative. The investment commitments follow pre-summit outreach through five regional conferences, domestic roadshows and investor engagements in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Sweden and Japan.Since June 2024, Andhra Pradesh has attracted investment commitments for 714 projects worth ₹22.6 lakh crore. Of these, 303 projects involving ₹7.1 lakh crore had been grounded or were under implementation as of October 2026.The first day will feature the inauguration of the AP Pavilion and MSME Exhibition, a special ministerial plenary and thematic sessions on ports, shipbuilding, energy, aviation and security, besides country-specific discussions.The second day will feature a fireside chat with the Chief Minister on the P4 initiative and zero poverty, along with sessions on space, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and skills. A live podcast with the Minister for Human Resources Development and IT is also scheduled.The AP Women and Growth Summit 2026 will be held concurrently at Novotel, Visakhapatnam, with Smriti Irani, Chairperson of the Alliance for Global Good, participating. The exhibition will be open to the general public on November 14.Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will lead the national participation. Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan will attend the valedictory session as the chief guest, along with Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. Published - November 11, 2026 06:33 pm IST