Amaravati | Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrived in Andhra Pradesh on Monday and was welcomed by IT Minister Nara Lokesh at Gannavaram Airport along with senior cabinet colleagues.

Accompanied by Andhra Pradesh ministers, Gates proceeded to the state Secretariat for discussions on strengthening cooperation in health, agriculture, education and technology-driven governance initiatives.

"Welcome to Amaravati, Mr Bill Gates. It was a pleasure to receive the Chair of the Gates Foundation at Gannavaram Airport today," Lokesh said in a post on 'X'.

Lokesh noted that Andhra Pradesh looks forward to working closely with the Gates Foundation to create scalable and impactful solutions for public welfare across sectors.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has requested Gates to expand ongoing health initiatives across the state and discussions will focus on AI as well.

The Gates Foundation is already working at Kuppam in Chittoor district on health-related projects, and the talks are expected to explore scaling up these interventions to benefit a wider population across the southern state.

Later, Gates will proceed to the Real Time Governance System (RTGS) to observe the utilisation of technology in governance, followed by Naidu showcasing the system's procedures and results, a government source said.

The CM will give a presentation on the "Swarna Andhra 2047" (golden Andhra) vision and the reforms ushered in various sectors, including med-tech, diagnostic services and Sanjeevani, a health record digitisation programme, the source said.

Following these engagements at the Secretariat, Gates and his team will proceed to an agricultural farm in Undavalli village in Amaravati, where he will witness the use of drones and AI technology, the source further said.

Gates had earlier visited the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh twice, and this visit follows an invitation extended by CM Naidu to further deepen collaboration with the state government, Municipal Minister P Narayana earlier said.