AP, Australia join hands on clean energy, education, skills

Amaravati: An Australian delegation led by Assistant Minister for International Education and Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Camp Office here on Sunday, as the state and Australia entered a new phase of strategic cooperation.

During the meeting, Naidu highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s economic transformation, development initiatives and opportunities for investment, innovation and international collaboration. He felicitated Hill with a traditional shawl and presented him with Araku Coffee and a commemorative memento.

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh and Australia signed four MoUs covering clean energy, advanced manufacturing, inclusive education, student mental health and skill development.

Under the first MoU, the Andhra Pradesh government’s Centre of Excellence for Energy Transition (CoEET), Visakhapatnam, IIT Tirupati and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, will establish a Centre of Excellence for Solar Manufacturing at IIT Tirupati. The initiative aims to make Andhra Pradesh a leading hub for solar manufacturing research, innovation, skill development and technology commercialisation.

The second MoU, between UNSW, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam and Samagra Shiksha, Andhra Pradesh, seeks to strengthen inclusive education by enhancing teachers’ capacity to support children with autism and other neurodiverse learning needs.