Vibrant Gujarat summit to host seven partner countries

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel Wednesday called upon India Inc to participate in the biennial investment summit 'Vibrant Gujarat' 2015, which is being partnered by seven countries.

"The seventh 'Vibrant Gujarat' summit has attracted the partnership of seven countries and a few states in India and I hope that it will lead India to shine across the seven seas," said the chief minister while addressing the curtain-raiser event here for the investment summit to be held next year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the three-day event, Patel said.

According to the organiser of the event, the partner countries in the seventh edition will include Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore and South Africa.

The seventh edition of the bi-annual investment summit 'Vibrant Gujarat' will be held Jan 11-13, 2015 at Gandhinagar.

The event is being hosted at the Mahatma Mandir in the state capital at India's largest exhibition area of around 125,000 square metres with an expected participation from over 2,000 companies, two million-plus visitors and over 2,500 international delegates.

Minister of Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals in the Gujarat government Surabhbhai Patel too invited investor-participation at the summit during the curtain-raiser event co-organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

"Vibrant Gujarat investment summit has now transformed into a global networking business summit. At the first event, there were only 1,000 delegates and no international participation as partners for the summit while this event is being hosted with seven partner-countries," Patel said.

"The event has been successful in attracting investments into the state which was devastated by the 2001 earthquake. We expect healthy participation in the next edition of the event from international and domestic partners."

The summit will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Jan 11. Interestingly, it was the same event that catapulted Modi's image as a business- friendly leader from its inception in 2003.

The summit will also have eight theme seminars including that on Smart Cities, Small and Medium Enterprises; Hub for defence production; International finance centre; Water management; Health; Sustainable energy; and Corporate social responsibility.

Amitabh Kant, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), who was also present at the curtain-raiser event, said that the economic model of Gujarat should be replicated by the central government for sustainable growth.

"Gujarat model of growth has provide to be sustainable and should be replicated. If you are not in Gujarat you are missing a huge (economic) opportunity," Kant said in a brief but elaborate description of the growth achieved by the state in the backdrop of the summit.

"India needs to grow at the 10 percent growth rate for the next three decades to elevate a huge population from poverty and for this the Gujarat model of development should be looked at and copied," Kant, who was the former chief executive officer and managing director of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation said.