Addressing the Summit of Success organised in Ahmedabad to celebrate 20 years of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed that what was once a small sapling has now grown into a vast and vibrant banyan tree. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit has transformed from a one-time event into an institution. With each iteration, the summit has achieved new heights of success, further emphasising its significance. Prime Minister Modi explained the mantra behind the success of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, attributing it to core elements like idea, imagination, and implementation.
Through the platform of Vibrant Summit, Gujarat has demonstrated how it can bring about changes with effective decision-making and a focused approach. The Vibrant Summit has become a platform for Gujarat to showcase the potential of its people and the opportunities in various sectors to the world. It serves as a medium to introduce the nation’s talent and highlight the richness of Gujarat’s heritage, grandeur, and cultural legacy to the global audience.
The Prime Minister called upon both domestic and international industrialists to identify sectors where India can bolster its position through fresh development opportunities. He encouraged them to deliberate on these prospects in the upcoming Vibrant Summit.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda, stating that often, every endeavour has to go through three stages: ridicule, opposition, and acceptance. He remarked that when the Vibrant Summit was initiated, it was said to be just a branding event. However, the success of Vibrant Summit before the world has proven that it is not just a branding event, but a platform for bonding. Over the past 20 years, every edition of Vibrant Summit has been successful, thanks to the strength and affection of the seven crore people of Gujarat.
The Prime Minister highlighted the successful journey of Vibrant Summit, stating that in 2003, there were only a few hundred participants, but now, the summit sees the participation of over 40,000 individuals. Back in 2003, a handful of countries were partners, and now, more than 135 countries actively participate in the Vibrant Summit. In 2003, there were approximately 30 exhibitors, whereas today, the summit hosts over 2,000 exhibitors.
Gujarat took a unique approach at the Vibrant Summit, inviting a developed nation as a partner country—an idea that others hadn’t considered. With its existing officers and resources, Gujarat achieved what was previously unattempted or contemplated.
“We also extended invitations to Chief Ministers of other states in the country to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, to showcase the capabilities of their respective states. We connected various organisations, industrial fairs, and other verticals with the Vibrant Summit, progressively expanding its scope,” said the PM.
The Prime Minister exclaimed that 20 years is a long time, and today’s younger generation may not be aware of the situation in Gujarat before 2001! In the years leading up to 2001, Gujarat faced constant water scarcity, and after the devastating earthquakes, thousands of homes were damaged, leaving lakhs of people in distress and hardship. Not only this, “The closure of Madhavpura Mercantile Bank and the subsequent impact on 133 cooperative banks added to the economic woes in Gujarat. The state’s economic life was in turmoil,” he added.
He stated that in such challenging circumstances, he had unwavering faith that Gujarat would emerge from this crisis. However, people who criticised Gujarat and tried to tarnish its image analysed every incident to defame the state, saying that youth, businessmen, and industries would flee and Gujarat would become a burden for the country. Those who were conspiring to bring Gujarat down had created an atmosphere of disappointment, claiming that Gujarat would never recover, he said.
“I took a pledge that whatever the circumstances, I will take Gujarat out of this situation. We were not just thinking about reconstruction but were also planning for its future and we made the Vibrant Gujarat Summit the chief medium for this,” the Prime Minister said. This development has transformed Vibrant Gujarat into a global ‘Summit of Success.’
He said that when the Vibrant Gujarat Summit started, the Central Government initially showed little interest in Gujarat’s development. However, Good, Fair, and Transparent Governance, a policy-driven state, and an equal system of growth attracted domestic and foreign industries to Gujarat. The economic distress that was prevalent in Gujarat gradually turned into an opportunity.
The Prime Minister mentioned that when they initiated the Vibrant Summit, their objective was to transform Gujarat into the driving force behind the nation’s development. This vision has now become a reality, evident to the entire nation.
Upon taking leadership at the Centre in 2014, he was determined to position India as the global growth engine. Today, India stands as the world’s fastest-growing economy and is well on its way to becoming a global economic powerhouse. He further emphasised the goal of propelling India into the top three economies worldwide.
Noting that the identity of Gujarat in the 20th century was that of trade, the Prime Minister informed that the transformation from the 20th to the 21st century led Gujarat to become a powerhouse in agriculture and a financial hub, and the state got its new identity as an industrial and manufacturing ecosystem. All these changes have made Gujarat’s business environment stronger.
PM Modi also informed that Gujarat is the largest exporter in India with a current transactional value of USD 2 billion. “Defence manufacturing will be a very big sector in the coming times,” he added.
He mentioned that today, India is a leader in sustainability worldwide, and Gujarat has played a crucial role in that leadership. The startup ecosystem in the state, working as an incubator of innovation and industry, is contributing significantly. Gujarat is now focusing on new technologies, new industries, and new employment opportunities. “All thanks to the success of Vibrant Summit,” he noted.
He further highlighted that in the last two decades, Gujarat has taken significant strides in various sectors, including automobile manufacturing, chemicals, dyes, intermediates, food processing, medical device manufacturing, processed diamonds, ceramics, and more. New milestones have been achieved in these sectors in Gujarat.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister said that this is not the time to stop. “The next 20 years are more important than the last 20 years. When Vibrant Gujarat completes 40 years, India will not be far away from the centenary of its independence. This is the time when India will have to create a roadmap that will make it a developed and self-reliant nation by 2047,” he exclaimed, expressing the hope that the summit will move in this direction.
Chief minister Bhupendra Patel commenced his speech by extending heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the people of Gujarat for the historic success of India’s G20 Presidency.
The chief minister emphasised that nations across the globe are eager to collaborate with India under the Prime Minister’s visionary leadership. This has led to the influx of new technology, new industries, and fresh employment opportunities in the country.
He noted that Vibrant Summit was conceptualised two decades ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the vision of ushering in new industries, advanced technology, and increased job prospects in Gujarat.
Bhupendra Patel underlined that the seed of the Vibrant Summit, sown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2003, has now grown into a mighty banyan tree over the course of 20 years. “Shri Narendrabhai’s dream of positioning Gujarat prominently on the global stage in terms of industries, investments, and employment generation has become a reality. Therefore, we are commemorating this occasion as a Summit of Success,” he said.
Stating that the Vibrant Gujarat Summit has set new benchmarks in the state’s progress, CM Patel said that the economic development spurred by this investment summit has reached every section of society and spread across sectors. Today, Gujarat is the leading state in exports of the country and many Fortune 500 companies have established their operations in the state.
The chief minister stated that at the inception of the Vibrant Festival two decades ago, the Prime Minister had expressed unwavering faith in the potential of Gujarat and Gujaratis, encapsulated in the motto “Gujarat Can and Gujaratis Will”. Today, this belief, instilled by the Prime Minister, has been embodied by the mantra of ‘Sauno Saath, Sauno Vikas’.
The CM highlighted that today, Gujarat is home to world-class projects of immense scale, India’s first International Financial Services Centre – GIFT City, and the largest Greenfield Investment Region – Dholera, the world’s largest office complex – DREAM City, etc.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world and his aim is to make India a five trillion-dollar economy by 2027. He expressed confidence that Gujarat is committed to contributing to this goal with proactive policies and pro-people governance.
Bhupendra Patel said that Gujarat is focusing on emerging sectors like semiconductors, display fabs, green hydrogen, artificial intelligence, 5G, advanced materials, cloud computing, and e-commerce.
Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Gujarat is ready to contribute to global sustainability by becoming a Green Hydrogen Hub in the coming years to combat global climate change, said the CM. Gujarat is ready to become the ‘Gateway to the Future’ for the countries of the world by highlighting such capabilities, he said.
Minister of industries Balvantsinh Rajput mentioned in his welcome address that 20 years ago, the then chief minister and the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had initiated “Vibrant Gujarat” in 2003 to propel the progress of Gujarat in the industrial sector. It is a matter of pride for all of us that, under his guidance, the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat is being organised today.
The minister further noted that an impressive 90 per cent of the MoUs inked during the 9th Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2019 have been successful. Preceding the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal’, a total of 118 projects in the state have been backed by MoUs, signifying an anticipated capital infusion of Rs 1,47,000 crore from December 2022 till now.
Director General of JETRO (South Asia) Takashi Suzuki, Chairman of ArcelorMittal Group Lakshmi Mittal, and Chairman of Welspun Group BK Goenka were present at the event.
The Prime Minister had earlier inaugurated and visited the ‘Summit of Success’ pavilion at Science City.
Minister of state for industry Harsh Sanghvi, minister of state for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Jagdish Vishwakarma, Navsari MP CR Patil, members of the council of ministers, mayor of Ahmedabad Pratibha Jain, chief secretary Raj Kumar, chief principal secretary to the chief minister K Kailashnathan and other senior officials, prominent industrialists, industry associations, leading personalities in the field of trade and commerce, young entrepreneurs, startups, and students from colleges imparting higher and technical education were present.
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