On January 12th, 2013, the sixth Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit witnessed a magnificent valedictory function with a plethora of Business Leaders and Statesmen in attendance.
Shri M. Sahu (IAS) Principle Secretary, Industries, in his opening address highlighted the sixth VGGS’s achievements. He cited examples, which demonstrated how the current edition of VGGS had grown by leaps and bounds as compared to the previous edition.
The number of events increased to 127 from 67. Furthermore, in the focus sectors of Innovation, Knowledge, Sustainability and Youth Empowerment the number of events has increased to 31 from 8 in 2011. The biggest event was ICAI in education sector, which had the participation of 145 universities.
Similarly, the number of speakers increased three-fold. While 251 speakers were present during the previous edition, this time there were 840 speakers.
The number of Foreign delegates too increased from 1400 in 2011 to 2100 in the current edition.
Strategic partnerships in key areas also witnessed a tremendous increase. There were 2670 strategic partnerships as compared to 460 in the previous edition. .
Investment intentions have more than doubled with 17719 investment intentions being declared at the current event as compared to 8380 investment intentions during the previous edition. Moreover, a major chunk of these have come from SMEs. While there were 4417 investment intentions in the SME sector last time, the sixth edition saw 12886 investment intentions from SMEs.
The built-up area for the Global Trade Show has increased to 104,000 Sq M from 35,000 Sq M last time. The number of delegates went up to 58,000 from 36,400 last time.
The number of participating nations too went up to 121 from 101.
In terms of total employment to be generated, the fifth edition had a projected employment generation of 2,25,670, this time in the Vibrant summit 2013 the figure is estimated at 3,73,000. In addition, since the implementation rate in the SME sector is higher, the actual generation of employment is also projected to be higher, given the high rate of ‘investment intentions’ in SMEs.
Mr. Motoo Morimoto, President, Hitachi Life Solutions India congratulated Shri Modi for the success of the VGGS. Appreciating Shri Modi’s leadership and the support his company had received, Shri Motoo said, “We are thankful to Shri modi and appreciate his excellent leadership and government support.”
Shri Pankaj Patel, Chairman, Zydus Cadila congratulated Shri Modi and his team for the ‘resounding success’ of the sixth VGGS. He attributed the success of the event to Shri Modi’s leadership and said, “This year the event is much bigger with more global participation. We have laid a solid foundation for the next 10 years. The dynamic and visionary leadership of Shri Modi has led to a comprehensive and futuristic development model.”
He called the VGGS a platform for convergence, which would result in progress and development. He praised the CM for his consistent efforts over the past decade to attract investments, which he said, ‘have created a plethora of opportunity’ and predicted that such efforts would be beneficial in the long-run.
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Mr. Craig Rogerson, President and Chairman, Chemtura Group a renowned chemical operations company that is an innovator in green chemistry and green technology declared about his intentions to set up a Centre for Excellence in Gujarat. Further, quoting Shri Ratan Tata, he said, “It would be stupid not to be in Gujarat.”
Shri Sudhir Mehta, Chairman, Torrent Pharma praised Shri Modi’s illustrious leadership. He expressed pleasure at being present for the event and said, “The VGGS is a robust initiative in this context. I’m impressed by the fact that the meet has increased in size.”
He called Gujarat a role model, not only for other states but for all emerging economies.
He further praised Gujarat and said, “Gujarat is synonymous with good governance. The excellent infrastructure, availability of land and water, fast-growing cities, a stable political climate, the state also fosters a good work culture, good governance, infrastructure and wonderful facilitation mechanism.”
HE Pisan Manawapat, Thailand’s Ambassador to India, was all praises for Gujarat, VGGS and Shri Modi.
He expressed surprise at the fact that Shri Modi had focussed on sectors such as social issues, youth, health care, education, green energy and coastline development in addition to the traditional focus sectors of Business and Industry.
He mentioned the example of a top executive from a Thai Electronic Company, who after participating in VGGS, said that he would seriously consider setting up his manufacturing plant in Gujarat,.
He praised Shri Modi’s leadership and said, “Yesterday we heard a lot of praises for Shri Modi. He certainly deserves them all.”
Mentioning that the CM was more interested in actions, he gave an example of a concrete action that the Thai government had initiated to foster relations between Thailand and Gujarat. He said, “From April 1, Thai Airways would begin the first direct flight from Ahmedabad to Bangkok.”
H.E Hon Mrs Sheila Bappoo Gosk, Minister, Government of Mauritius said that she was humbled by the hospitality she had received in Gujarat. She expressed admiration at Gujarat’s economic growth and Gandhiji’s vision, which she said, was present in Shri Modi’s governance. . She said, “I feel and see the spirit of Gandhiji in [Shri Modi’s] development model.”
She spoke about the various investment opportunities in Mauritius. Furthermore, she said that she would inform the Mauritian Cabinet about the large investment opportunities in Gujarat and recommend that an investment mission be sent to Gujarat.
Shri Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, Tata Group expressed his pleasure at being present at the sixth Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. He spoke about the reasons for Gujarat’s success and declared, “I would like to use this platform to praise the entrepreneurship of the Gujarati people. However, the enabling environment and the infrastructure by the Government and its various institutions, has been a catalyst and influenced the decisions of many companies. In Gujarat we see a culture of implementation which is a reflection of the leadership qualities of the Chief Minister.”
Speaking about the Tata group’s involvement in VGGS, he said, “Our involvement goes beyond business, we are involved in skill improvement, we remain committed to that.”
Further, he said that in a world filled with uncertainty, the balanced and proactive policies of the government of Gujarat should be replicated.
He expressed hope of building a deeper relationship with Gujarat and said, “We as a Tata group will continue to invest and grow in this state. We like to focus on long-term value creation for our stakeholders and Gujarat is certainly one of them.”
Mr Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Government of Canada highlighted the presence of the large Canadian delegation at the VGGS.
He stated that not only Executives form big companies but also leaders from Small and Medium Enterprises wanted to be a part of Gujarat’s economic miracle.
He spoke about Canada’s strong fiscal environment and expressed hope that the two governments would form a mutually beneficial relationship. He said, “We have a government focussed on trade and diversification. There are particular sectors, which provide unlimited potential, for the two countries to collaborate. Canada is a resource-rich country; it has the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world, one of the world’s largest gas resources, large resources of pot ash and diamonds”
Further, he spoke about the tremendous opportunities in education in Canada. He said that he was deeply honoured to have been a partner at VGGS.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expresses his faith in the success of the VGGS in a letter to Shri Modi.
The event saw a packed audience and the presence of Ministers and leaders from Gujarat.
