UP to pitch itself as 'global sourcing hub' in international trade summit

"Buyers and importers from 72 countries across continents including Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceania are expected to participate in the five-day event," a senior official said

Uttar Pradesh, which is targeting to become a $1 trillion economy by 2027, will pitch itself as a ‘global sourcing hub’ for e-commerce majors and multinational companies at the five-day international trade show next month.

Vietnam would be the partner country for the 2nd edition of the September 25-29 ‘UP International Trade Show 2024’ in Greater Noida.

“Buyers and importers from 72 countries across continents including Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceania are expected to participate in the five-day event,” a senior UP government official said.

The government will showcase the state's capacity in an array of domains including IT/ITeS, MSME, startups, education, agriculture, health, tourism & culture, energy, One District One Product (ODOP) scheme.

The state is rolling out the red carpet for entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, traders and exporters to participate in the flagship trade fair and forge lucrative business alliances.

At the same time, the number of exhibitors is estimated to jump 25 per cent from 2,000 in 2023 to almost 2,500 this year.

UP is famous for a plethora of traditional industries such as Varanasi for Banarasi silk sari, Bhadohi (carpet), Lucknow (chikan), Kanpur (leather goods), Agra (leather footwear), Aligarh (lock), Moradabad (brassware), Meerut (sports goods) and Saharanpur (wooden products).

In this context, the trade fair will offer a congenial trading platform to seal business-to-business (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) deals to participants.

Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to leverage the event for invoking the state’s soft power of music, culture, heritage, cuisine, tourism and fashion among others.

These multifaceted events are aimed at highlighting UP’s artistic richness and cultural diversity, providing a comprehensive experience that blends historical traditions with contemporary expressions.

“The trade fair should organise a session on insurance in collaboration with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) apart from another session dedicated to innovation and startups,” he added.

At the UP Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2023, the Yogi government garnered investment proposals to the tune of Rs 40 trillion across sectors. So far, investment projects totaling Rs 10 trillion have already been launched, while several others are in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, UP is eyeing to achieve MSME exports worth Rs 3 trillion in 2-3 years. The MSME sector contributes 60 per cent to UP’s annual industrial output.

The MSME sector, which is the main driver to realise the ‘Make in UP’ vision, is the leading employment generator after agriculture and allied activities.