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Lokesh Nara shares welcome message on X as Microsoft founder lands in Amaravati
3 min readFeb 16, 2026 10:30 AM IST First published on: Feb 16, 2026 at 10:30 AM IST
Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, lands in Amaravati and is greeted by Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh at Gannavaram Airport, kicking off a day of talks on health, AI, and technology‑driven development. (Photo: X/@naralokesh)
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates arrived in Andhra Pradesh on Monday for talks with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on expanding cooperation in health and artificial intelligence.
The visit was confirmed in a post on X by Nara Lokesh, general secretary of the Telugu Desam Party and the state’s IT Minister. He said Gates was received at Gannavaram Airport before heading to the state secretariat in Amaravati.
Welcome to #Amaravati, Mr. Bill Gates.
It was a pleasure to receive the Chair of the Gates Foundation at Gannavaram Airport today, along with my colleagues Home Minister Smt. Anitha Garu, Agriculture Minister Sri Atchannaidu Garu & Health Minister Sri Satya Kumar Garu. We have… pic.twitter.com/JzAWdCjhtF
“Welcome to Amaravati, Mr Bill Gates,” a post on X said, adding that it was a “pleasure to receive the Chair of the Gates Foundation” along with senior ministers.
Naidu said discussions would focus on strengthening partnerships in health, agriculture, education and technology-driven governance. “Andhra Pradesh looks forward to working closely with the Gates Foundation to create scalable, impactful solutions for our people,” he said in the post.
Meetings at the Secretariat
At the secretariat, Gates is scheduled to meet Naidu, IT Minister Nara Lokesh and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
State Municipal Minister P Narayana said the talks would centre on expanding ongoing cooperation in health programmes and exploring the use of artificial intelligence in public services.
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The Gates Foundation has already been working on health-related initiatives in parts of the state, and discussions are expected to explore widening these efforts.
Focus on technology and governance
After the meeting, Gates is expected to visit the Real Time Governance System (RTGS) centre to observe how technology is being used in administration.
Naidu will also present his “Swarna Andhra 2047” vision, outlining reforms in sectors such as medical technology, diagnostic services and the Sanjeevani digital health records programme.
Gates and his team are also scheduled to visit an agricultural centre in Undavalli village, where they will see the use of drones and AI tools in farming.
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This marks another visit by Gates to the state, following an invitation from Naidu to deepen collaboration between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Gates Foundation.
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