10th Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held in January 2022

The drastic fall in Covid-19 cases has encouraged the Gujarat government to organise the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a flagship event to attract investments, in January 2022.

Sources close to the development said newly sworn-in chief minister Bhupendra Patel is keen to organise the biennial event next year. He has given verbal invitations to consulate generals of the US, Denmark, Uganda and Israel to participate in the high-profile event.

Moreover, a couple of days ago Patel, in his virtual address during a special session on Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) as part of the Dubai Expo – 2020, invited the global business community to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

A senior official in the state industries department said the summit’s theme might be ‘Employment’. “After the outbreak of Covid-19 virus, global investors are in search of an appropriate alternative to China. Through the Vibrant Gujarat summit, the central government wants to attract investments not only to Gujarat but also across the country,” said the official, indicating that in the upcoming summit the Centre’s various departments will also remain active.

He said the Union Ministry of Commerce is collecting important information about different sectors from state governments across the country. A list of bureaucrats and ministers are being prepared for the roadshows related to vibrant Gujarat within India as well as across the world, he claimed.

As far as Gujarat is concerned, Dholera SIR and Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT City) will be promoted aggressively to attract investments. These two Greenfield projects were initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Gujarat CM.

“We are in the process of appointing qualified agencies to market Vibrant Gujarat Summit through aggressive campaigns. Unlike previous editions, the upcoming event would be different as there would be a plethora of virtual participation from across the globe. For the purpose, Mahatma Mandir – the official venue for the Vibrant Summit situated in the state capital Gandhinagar — would be equipped with latest gadgets,” said the official, adding that a seven-star category hotel was inaugurated earlier this year at a stone’s throw distance from Mahatma Mandir to accommodate VVIP international guests, including that of country heads of three to four nations.

In the wake of Covid-19, the focus is on having quality physical participation instead of mere number of footfalls. Keeping this in mind, there would be large virtual participation for the event.