US consulate to function in phased manner

Hyderabad, Aug 2 (UNI) Consulate of the United States of America here will start functioning in a phased manner from December, according to Consul General of the US, Hyderabad, Mr Cornelis M Keur.

Mr Keur, who had made a courtesy call on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy yesterday, informed him about the progress of the work to set up the Consulate.

During his brief meeting with the Chief Minister, the Consul General said he liked India and the people here very much and expressed his desire to settle down in Hyderabad after retirement.

Stating that Hyderabad had been developing fast and attracting many Multi-National Companies, Mr Cornelis lauded the efforts of the Chief Minister to provide better infrastructure to its citizens.

He thanked the Chief Minister and his government for its support and cooperation to set up the Consulate.

The Chief Minister assured all support from the state government for the functioning of the Consulate. The Consulate in Hyderabad would be beneficial to both Andhra Pradesh and the United States .

The Chief Minister also remarked that Telugu people had settled in large numbers in places like California and ''every third person one gets to meet there was an Indian and every fourth person a Telugu speaking person''.

The Chief Minister also pointed out that Hyderabad figured in the list of 12 best cities of the world for growth and innovation, according to a recent survey by a renowned international magazine, ''Fast Company'' in US. The Magazine ranked Hyderabad next to Beijing on account of it being more diverse than its rival Indian IT hub, Bangalore.

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