Over 25 nations' leaders to join Bengal Global Business Summit from Tue

Business leaders from more than 25 countries, a host of prominent figures of corporate India as well as political dignitaries are expected to take part in the seventh edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) that will begin on Tuesday, officials said.

The participating countries include the US, UK, Japan, Poland, France, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji, they said.

Corporate honchos from India's Reliance Industries, ITC, Ambuja Neotia and the Hiranandani Group are also likely to attend the state's marquee business summit.

The focus sectors at the two-day BGBS 2023 are MSME, textiles, engineering, energy, transport & urban infrastructure, real estate, agri, tourism and international trade & logistics, officials said.

Over 250 international delegates are expected to participate, including senior representatives from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, they said.

"Reliance Industries Chairman & MD Mukesh Ambani is expected to attend this year's BGBS. Other industrialists such as Sanjeev Goenka, Sanjeev Puri, Purnendu Chattopadhyay, Harshvardhan Neotia and Sajjan Jindal will also be present," an official told PTI.

"Numerous B2B and B2G meetings will be organised on the sidelines of the summit, highlighting trade and investment opportunities between the global community and West Bengal," he said.

The United Kingdom is set to bring the "largest-ever" delegation to the BGBS, the British Deputy High Commission had said in a recent release.

A 55-member delegation from a wide range of businesses and institutions will represent the UK at the event, it said.

In the 2022 edition, a total of 137 MoUs, Letters of Intent (LoI) and Expressions of Interest (EoI) towards investment proposals of Rs 3,42,375 crore were signed, according to state government data.

"These have a total employment potential of 40 lakh," the data showed.