Ahead of the eighth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 that begins on January 10, the state government claimed a 66 per cent success ratio for the past seven editions.


According to J N Singh, chief secretary, Government of Gujarat, so far 51,738 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) or investment intentions have been signed, from first edition in 2003 to the latest seventh edition in 2015.


Of these, about 34,234 projects have either been completed or are under implementation, putting the success ratio of the investment MoUs at about 66 per cent, said Singh while addressing mediapersons here on Saturday.


On the lines of the previous edition, the eighth edition too will see a Global CEO Conclave during the summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief executives of top global and Indian firms. The government is expecting 25-30 such CEOs and heads of overseas multinational firms to participate in the conclave, along with a similar number of CEOs and heads of top Indian firms.


We have so far received confirmation from 15 such CEOs of global firms outside India and expect more to come in as the days go by. The Gujarat Government and the Government of India's Department of Industrial Planning and Policy (DIPP) is working together to invite global CEOs. We are expecting participation of about 25 Global CEOs and heads of the multinational corporations to attend the event, said P K Taneja, additional chief secretary, industries & mines department, Government of Gujarat.  


Modi is expected to arrive at Gandhinagar on January 9 to inaugurate the Global Trade Show exhibition as well as the international exchange at GIFT City by BSE. The next day, the Prime Minister will be formally inaugurating VGGS 2017, followed by the Global CEO Conclave in the evening.


Singh claimed that the eighth edition of VGGS will be the biggest of all summits and will exceed any other event happening elsewhere in the country. Singh maintained that the event was not likely to be impacted by the recent demonetisation on the grounds of long-term investment plans made by participating firms.


Moreover, stepping away from the previous tradition of being merely an investment summit, VGGS 2017 will see more focus on knowledge sharing and action-based brainstorming. For instance, for the first time in the country, several Nobel Laureates will host a science exhibition and also have a round-table discussion.

-- Business Standard