By Lee Kap-soo

“India is organizing the vibrant Gujarat 2024, when India is going to celebrate its 100th year of independence in 2047,” said Ashwini Kumar, principal secretary of the Urban Development & Urban Housing Department, the Government of Gujarat in India.

Delivering the Gujarat presentation held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Nov. 7, Ashwini Kumar said, “India is the world's 5th largest economy with the largest working age population, and she is a preferred investment destination. India has consistently outpaced the global GDP growth and is poised to become the third largest economy of $5 trillion.”

The Government of Gujarat and the Embassy of India in Seoul jointly held a seminar on “Investment Trade Opportunities in Gujarat 10th Edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.”

A delegation from Gujarat is visiting South Korea under the leadership of Ashwini Kumar, to showcase the business and investment opportunities in the State of Gujarat and strengthen the present investment trade ties with South Korea.

Principal Secretary Ashwini Kumar said, “Gujarat has taken significant strides in developing a resilient and vibrant economy. Over the past two decades, the state has witnessed unprecedented growth and has been first in industrial output and also in terms of attracting investments both FDI and domestic.”

Noting that the state is home to several of the world's largest multinational countries, including Fortune 500 global companies, he said, “Gujarat now contributes nearly 33 percent share to India's aggregate exports with goods being shipped to 180 countries. It has earned for itself a unique distinction of being the best performing state across parameters such as logistics performance index, good governance index, and ease of doing business and startup.”

He also said, “The state has robust multifaceted social and fiscal infrastructure. It presents a unique blend of hospitality and enterprise fortified with healthy growth indicators, the business friendly environment and simplified procedures.”

In his special address, meanwhile, H.E. Amit Kumar, Ambassador of India in Republic of Korea, said, “I firmly believe that India and the Republic of Korea, the two top 10 economies in the world, need to engage even more closely in the coming years. Indian economy is projected to grow at a relatively high rate for the next two decades.

“We are estimated for India to grow at 6.5 percent this year and are expected to overtake Germany and Japan to become the third largest economy by 2027. This impressive growth and resilience that we witness in India today is a direct consequence of the structural reforms of relaxed norms of regulatory liberalization and relentless focus on improving our physical and digital infrastructure that the government has consistently pursued over the past few years.”

Commenting that India also has a size, the skill, growth opportunities, talent, technology and innovation capabilities that is difficult to find elsewhere, Amb. Kumar said, “In the last five years India has attracted foreign direct investment worth $375 billion. Looking at India and Korea today, our current levels of bilateral trade are $28 million. Two-way investment flows are over $13 billion of which $8 billion has flown to India and around $5 billion has come to Korea.”

He added, “These levels are not insignificant but there is certainly much more potential for the two countries to explore. The two sides are in a session not only on trade and investment but also on infrastructure, energy and new technologies.”

Gujarat State is the 7th largest province of India located in the western part of the country and is widely seen as one of the most industrialized States in India with a GDP growth rate of around 10 over last few years.

Gujarat’s key strengths include its strategic location, excellent infrastructure, proactive stable governance and entrepreneurial spirit of its people, thus making it a perfect ground for doing business in India.

Vibrant Gujarat, a highly successful biennial global investor summit organized by the Government of Gujarat, is an event that brings together global thought leaders, policy makers, academia and industrialists on a common platform to brain storm on issues of prominence, define growth agenda, and promote balanced sustainable growth.

 The 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, held in January 2017 witnessed participation from 25,000 delegates from 100 countries, including 4 Heads of States, Nobel Laureates, Captains of global industry and Thought Leaders.