Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017
10-13 January 2017
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The 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit organized from 10-13 January 2017 at MahatamaMandir, Gandhi Nagar focused on sustainable economic and social development.
The central theme of the Summit was “Connecting India to the World”, to provide a platform for a dialogue for betterment of global economy. Heads of States, Heads of International Institutions from around the world came together at this Summit to further the cause of development and to promote cooperation. Prime Minister of India addressed the inaugural session.
The focus areas of the VGS 2017 were Agro and Food Processing, Gems & Jewellery, Biotechnology, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Aerospace and Defence, Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM), Road Transport, Skill Development, Engineering, Environment, Healthcare, Innovation and R&D, IT-Ites, Mega Projects, Pharmaceuticals, Ports & Maritime Sector, Renewable Energy, Textiles, Tourism and Urban Development.
The partner countries included Japan, Canada, USA, UK, Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, France, Poland, Sweden, Singapore and UAE.
More than 25,000 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were inked at the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Out of these, 18,533 are in the small and medium enterprises sector.
Most MoUs signed at the summit are for expansion of existing projects in the State. Even Central government entities like the Indian Railways, nationalised banks and Public Sector Undertakings have signed MoUs for expansion of their existing projects or providing credit to the industries in Gujarat.
One of the major agreements was with French aircraft maker Airbus, who intends to set up a manufacturing facility in the State.
The Indian Railways has signed an MoU pledging investment of Rs. 67,000 crore for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, which was announced in the railway budget.
Prominent among the foreign dignitaries were Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry OlegovichRogozin, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa.
After the inauguration, PM Modi chaired the CEO Roundtable on Transforming India. Besides Chambers and Allen, global CEOs attended the meeting including Suzuki Motor Corp's Toshihiro Suzuki, Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of French electricity giant EDF, Yusuffali MA of Lulu Group and Sistema's Vladimir Evtushenkov.
From India, Reliance Industries chairman MukeshAmbani, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, Kumar Mangalam Birla of Aditya Birla Group, Essar head Shashi Ruia, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, Reliance ADA Group Chairman Anil Ambani, Vishal Sikka of Infosys, Y C Deveshwar of ITC and Kotak Mahindra Group's Uday S Kotak were part of the CEOs Roundtable as well as the inauguration ceremony.
The discussions during the roundtable largely revolved around global as well as Indian investment climate and business opportunities.
Besides sessions on ease of doing business, biotechnology, GST, aerospace and defense, domestic manufacturing, smart cities and skilling, the Summit also hosted B2B meetings and country sessions.
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