This initiative has support of not just the AP Govt. but also of a good number of business heads who travelled to Washington as delegates on their own initiative.

The meetings with US Representative Jim McDermott, Washington secretary of state, Boeing, Microsoft were fruitful.

The tours of Boeing - Everett plant, Microsoft Advanta campus and City of Bellevue gave the delegates a good understanding of the scope and the areas that can be explored for collaborations.

The delegates also participated in events with the local Indian community. After the trip, the delegates’ faith in the partnership initiative touched the skies with their observations and understanding of the two states, their cultures, their future interests and common goals of sustainable development.

We are hoping that this is the first of many such trips to forge a great community and business partnership between the state of Andhra Pradesh and the state of Washington.

The purpose of the visit is to build relationships, create partnerships and expand into new markets mainly focusing on life science, medical device and global health sectors.

• The mission will offer business-to-business matchmaking and networking events so you can find distribution partners, customers and establish business relationships.

• Washington State exports are up almost 40% in 2012 as exporters take advantage of the Free Trade Agreement.