Vibrant Gujarat summit to draw many foreign heads
4-day meet to focus on sustainable economic and social development.
New Delhi: A host of foreign leaders including presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers of several countries, will converge in Gandhi Nagar to attend the eighth edition of four-day Vibrant Gujarat summit beginning Tuesday.
Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault have already confirmed their participation at the Summit.
Launched in 2003, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is aimed at attracting investment in the state and is considered as an important event attended by top Indian industrialists besides representatives from many countries. The central focus of the upcoming Summit is “Sustainable Economic and Social Development”.
“It will bring together heads of state and government, ministers, leaders from the corporate world, senior policy makers, heads of international institutions and academia from around the world to further the cause of development and to promote cooperation,” the organisers were quoted by news agencies, as saying.
The Kenyan President will be in India on a three-day visit beginning Tuesday during which he will also hold extensive talks with PM Narendra Modi besides attending the Summit at Gandhinagar. He is also expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee while vice-president Hamid Ansari, home minister Rajnath Singh and defence minister Manohar Parrikar are likely to call on Kenyatta during his stay here.
Rwanda President Kagame will arrive in Ahmedabad on Monday and will depart from there Wednesday. He will have a bilateral meeting with Mr Modi in Gandh-inagar and will address a select gathering of CEOs of top companies.
Portuguese Prime Minister Costa, who arrived in New Delhi on Saturday on a seven-day visit, will attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on its inaugural session. The Serbian Prime Minister will arrive in Ahmedabad on Monday and will hold a bilateral meeting with Mr Modi on range of bilateral and regional issues at the Mahatma Mandir exhibition-cum-convention Centre, the venue of the summit. Vucic will also visit Mumbai during his four day visit.
Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel will also attend the Vibrant Gujarat summit. He will arrive tomorrow on a four-day India trip. Israel's participation in Vibrant Gujarat will also include a country Seminar on doubling farmer's income via Indo-Israeli agricultural cooperation.