Visakhapatnam, (IANS) : Over 2,000 delegates from 51 countries will attend business chamber CII’s Partnership Summit, beginning here on Friday.

Senior officials from both the Central and state governments as well as a galaxy of leading industrialists will attend the two-day event with the theme ‘Partnerships for shared new realities’.

The summit is the annual flagship event of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and is organised in association with the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry and the Andhra Pradesh government.

The Partnership Summit 2017 is a unique platform that would enable close examination of the partnerships and synergies that will spark the next phase of global growth and develop strong multi-country linkages and networks to assist the transformation of the global economy, CII said in a statement.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will address the inaugural session.

India’s sunrise state Andhra Pradesh will be using the platform to attract investment as the state government is expected to sign MoUs with various companies.

Andhra Pradesh is a gateway to growing markets and promising opportunities. It is endowed with rich natural resources and mineral wealth and boasts of the second longest coastline in the country, said CII.

With visionary political leadership, strong government mandate and proactive administration, the state has mapped its 2029 vision blueprint with a global outlook and a target to be amongst the best three states in India by 2022, the business chamber said, adding that the state’sgrowth trajectory has been on the rise, making it the fastest-growing state in India with 10.99 per cent GSDP growth in 2015-16.

Some of the overseas dignitaries addressing the Summit include Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Nepal’s Commerce Minister Romi Gauchan Thakali, Ukraine’s First Vice Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv, United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Zambia’s Commerce Minister Margaret Mhango Mwanakatwe, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister for Industry and Commerce C.I. Mabuwa and Sudan’s Minister of Trade Salah Mohamed El Hassan Mohamed Saeed.