Hyderabad, the 400-year old city famous for pearls, is all set to receive US President George W Bush tomorrow along with his wife Laura Bush. This is the second visit by an American President to Hyderabad. Bush's predecessor Bill Clinton had visited Hyderabad in May 2000.The Andhra Pradesh government is considering the US President's visit as an important opportunity to showcase the state before global investors, and accordingly has prepared a ten-minute film on its potential to impress the US President. The short film will be shown to Bush on Air Force One during his journey to Hyderabad on Friday morning.During his brief visit, Bush will spend about one hour and ten minutes at the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University interacting with scientists, progressive farmers and women members of self-help groups. He will also have a glimpse of the agricultural practices and technologies on the university premises before proceeding to the Indian School of Business (ISB) where he will interact with local industrialists and students of ISB.About 16 representatives from a cross-section of industries including the son of Anji Reddy, chairman of Dr Reddy Laboratories, and the son of Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam Computer, have been chosen to be present at the 50-minute interactive meeting at ISB.Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said that he would brief Bush about various aspects of the state economy and his government's initiatives on agriculture and industry during an hour-long interaction with him. "This is an opportunity to project our state in its entirety," the Chief Minister said, hoping that export opportunities for Andhra's horticulture, especially for mangoes to both America and Europe, would get a boost with Bush's visit.Unlike the visit of Clinton, the state government this time is keeping the American President's visit a low-key affair owing to the opposition from some sections of society including the left parties.Former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was credited with bringing Bill Clinton to Hyderabad during his tenure, has also opposed the Bush visit citing US policy towards Iran's nuclear programme.While the Naidu government showcased the IT might before Clinton, the present government is trying to project the state's strides in the agriculture sector during the Bush visit.
