NEW DELHI: Hundreds of diplomats and businessmen, including the who's who of Indian industry such as Ratan Tata, MukeshAmbani, Anil Ambani, Sahara India Chairman Subrata Roy, Essar Group's ShashiRuia, GautamAdani of Adani Group and Vedanta boss Anil Agarwal, are expected to gather at the showpiece investment meeting of newly re-elected Gujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi in January.
No effort is being spared to make Vibrant Gujarat 2013 the "most high-powered and effective" investment summit "ever held", an official closely associated with organising the event said on condition of anonymity.
Vibrant Gujarat 2013 will be Modi's first major public event post-elections, and will inevitably be assessed in the context of his ambitions and chances of leading BJP nationally. Senior government officials and marketers associated with the meeting said "the event has been accorded the highest priority by the chief minister".
Modi himself is closely monitoring preparations for the biennial event, marketed by American lobbying giant Apco Worldwide since 2009, said a person with knowledge of the matter. His first task after the polls was to meet officials of the Industrial Extension Bureau, the state government's nodal agency for investments, which organises Vibrant Gujarat, the official said.
Congress MP Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel and PowerBSE -3.52 %, Lafarge CEO Martin Kreigner and GMRBSE -3.16 % Group head GM Rao are also likely to attend, another person familiar with the matter said.
USIBC Sponsoring Event
Previous summits have been characterised by big investment promises and lavish praise from industry leaders, and have been a key factor in Modi's image building.
Vibrant Gujarat 2013 will be the biggest yet in scale and scope, according to Maheshwar Sahu, principal secretary, industries and mines, Gujarat. The 2011 meeting alone drew 1,400 foreigners from 101 countries and 35,000 Indians, who together signed 8,300 MoUs worth Rs 20,83,000 crore.
In a first, the United States-India Business Council (USIBC), along with counterparts from the UK, Japan and Australia, is sponsoring the event. Peter Haas, consul-general of the US Consulate in Mumbai (the US, which earlier rejected Modi's visa due to the controversy over the 2002 riots, has been warming up to Modi), and representatives of countries such as Iceland, Brunei, Argentina, Costa Rica and Cuba have confirmed participation, said another official.
Sahu said invites have already been sent to these dignitaries and businessmen, and most of them have confirmed participation. While the 2013 Vibrant Gujarat will dwarf previous summits in attendance, the focus will be on strategic partnerships with countries that will make Gujarat a global business hub, help small businesses and create jobs, he said.
A spokeswoman for USIBC said the trade group's president Ron Somers apart, John Luke, chairman and CEO of global packaging solutions company MeadWestVaco, and D Dhamotharan, senior vice-president of engineering company URS Corporation, will attend Vibrant Gujarat. For the past six months, a number of officials from the state have travelled the globe to woo policymakers and businessmen. Modi himself made a much-publicised trip to Japan in July, where he met executives of carmaker SuzukiBSE -0.88 %.
No effort is being spared to make Vibrant Gujarat 2013 the "most high-powered and effective" investment summit "ever held", an official closely associated with organising the event said on condition of anonymity.
Vibrant Gujarat 2013 will be Modi's first major public event post-elections, and will inevitably be assessed in the context of his ambitions and chances of leading BJP nationally. Senior government officials and marketers associated with the meeting said "the event has been accorded the highest priority by the chief minister".
Modi himself is closely monitoring preparations for the biennial event, marketed by American lobbying giant Apco Worldwide since 2009, said a person with knowledge of the matter. His first task after the polls was to meet officials of the Industrial Extension Bureau, the state government's nodal agency for investments, which organises Vibrant Gujarat, the official said.
Congress MP Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel and PowerBSE -3.52 %, Lafarge CEO Martin Kreigner and GMRBSE -3.16 % Group head GM Rao are also likely to attend, another person familiar with the matter said.
USIBC Sponsoring Event
Previous summits have been characterised by big investment promises and lavish praise from industry leaders, and have been a key factor in Modi's image building.
Vibrant Gujarat 2013 will be the biggest yet in scale and scope, according to Maheshwar Sahu, principal secretary, industries and mines, Gujarat. The 2011 meeting alone drew 1,400 foreigners from 101 countries and 35,000 Indians, who together signed 8,300 MoUs worth Rs 20,83,000 crore.
In a first, the United States-India Business Council (USIBC), along with counterparts from the UK, Japan and Australia, is sponsoring the event. Peter Haas, consul-general of the US Consulate in Mumbai (the US, which earlier rejected Modi's visa due to the controversy over the 2002 riots, has been warming up to Modi), and representatives of countries such as Iceland, Brunei, Argentina, Costa Rica and Cuba have confirmed participation, said another official.
Sahu said invites have already been sent to these dignitaries and businessmen, and most of them have confirmed participation. While the 2013 Vibrant Gujarat will dwarf previous summits in attendance, the focus will be on strategic partnerships with countries that will make Gujarat a global business hub, help small businesses and create jobs, he said.
A spokeswoman for USIBC said the trade group's president Ron Somers apart, John Luke, chairman and CEO of global packaging solutions company MeadWestVaco, and D Dhamotharan, senior vice-president of engineering company URS Corporation, will attend Vibrant Gujarat. For the past six months, a number of officials from the state have travelled the globe to woo policymakers and businessmen. Modi himself made a much-publicised trip to Japan in July, where he met executives of carmaker SuzukiBSE -0.88 %.
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