- Friday, February 21, 2025
The event is likely to see approximately 100,000 attendees, encompassing chief executives, business magnates, ministers, and diplomats hailing from 133 countries
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is set to extend a warm welcome to numerous domestic and international investors converging on his home state of Gujarat this week for a business event. This initiative marks one of his final significant endeavours to attract investments before seeking re-election.
Scheduled from January 10 to 12, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit anticipates a turnout of approximately 100,000 attendees, encompassing chief executives, business magnates, ministers, and diplomats hailing from 133 countries. Organisers tout this edition as the largest gathering in the two decade history of the event, further solidifying its prominence on the global stage.
Modi had started the summit in 2003, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
Read: Weeks ahead of Vibrant Gujarat summit, officials say state emerges as India’s ‘petro capital’
Participating in the event are prominent foreign companies, including Microsoft, Nasdaq, Alphabet’s Google, Suzuki, and Toyota. The roster of attendees features influential figures such as Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, regarded as Asia’s two wealthiest individuals, along with the chairman of the diversified Tata Group, representing a multitude of industries from salt to aviation.
Read: Top Gujarat official attends Vibrant Gujarat roadshow event in Sydney, invites Australian businesses
Since Modi assumed power in 2014, foreign investors have shown substantial interest in India, with companies such as Apple, Samsung, Kia, and Airbus expanding their operations. Despite some executives expressing concerns about Modi’s protectionist policies in sectors such as digital payments, manufacturing, and e-commerce, which are perceived to favour local businesses, foreign investment continues to flow into the country.
For both Modi and officials in Gujarat which is ruled by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, the Vibrant Gujarat summit will present a chance to attract investors to sectors such as chip-making and electric vehicles, where India still needs to cover some distance. Modi is also set to hold closed-door meetings with many executives, state officials said.
It will one of the prime minister’s final major attempts to assure investors about his government’s business-friendly policies and give a boost to India’s reputation as an investment destination. India will head for the general elections in a few months where Modi will seek this third straight term.
Mukesh Aghi, president of trade group US-India Strategic Partnership Forum which is leading its biggest ever delegation of 50-plus American firms to the summit in Gujarat, said firms in the US are “are factoring in that the current government will come back in power”.
“They are quietly de-risking from China, and so India, with its fast growing economy, becomes important,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Gujarat has attracted roughly $34 billion (£26.7 billion) in foreign investments between 2019 and 2023, the third highest among the Indian states after Maharashtra — home to financial capital Mumbai — and Karnataka, whose capital Bengaluru is India’s Silicon Valley.
Just like the earlier Vibrant Gujarat summits, hotel rooms are in short supply now and getting pricier.
Ahead of the mega event, Gujarat signed initial investment pacts worth $120 billion (£94.4 billion) with more than 200 companies, including steelmaker ArcelorMittal’s local joint venture.
