Vibrant Gujarat Summits and strategies helped state get USD 55 billion FDI in two decades: Officials

HYDERABAD: The biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, being organised by the Gujarat government since 2003, coupled with years of carefully-planned strategies and thoughtful implementation has helped the state garner a cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) of USD 55 billion between 2002 and 2022, officials said.

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) has grown in tandem with the state economy, and since its humble beginning, it has proved to be a gateway for foreign investment in the state, industry leaders said.

The 10th edition of the VGGS, based on the 'Gateway to the Future' theme, will be organised in Gandhinagar from January 10 to 12.

Addressing a Vibrant Gujarat roadshow in Hyderabad last month, state's Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Industries Jagdish Vishwakarma said a testimony to Gujarat's FDI-friendly policies is the fact that many Fortune 500 companies have invested in the state.

"Gujarat contributes 8.3 per cent, approximately USD 282 Billion, to India's GDP. The state has garnered a cumulative FDI of USD 55 billion from 2002 to 2022," he said.

"Home to the world's largest multinational companies, including Fortune 500 global companies, Gujarat boasts of having over 13 lakh MSMEs employing more than seven-and-a-half lakh individuals. The state has shown unparalleled performance in logistics and connectivity," he said in his address to potential investors.

In the earlier editions of the summit, there were no partner countries, whereas in the 2019 edition of Vibrant Gujarat, 15 major countries became partners. In the upcoming edition of the VGGS, 28 countries, including Australia, the UAE, Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands have already confirmed to be partners, the state government said.

During an event organised last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about how the number of partner countries and exhibitors increased in the Vibrant Gujarat Summits over the last two decades.

"In 2003, the summit had only a handful of participating countries. Today, 135 countries participate in it. In 2003, when this summit started, only 30 exhibitors showed up, now over 2000 exhibitors come to the summit," he said.

As per the government data, the state has attracted USD 55 billion foreign direct investment in the last 20 years. Gujarat has received Rs 37,059 crore or USD 4.9 billion in FDI in the year 2022-23, it showed.

Gujarat's auto sector attracts 13 per cent of the state's FDI, whereas India's auto sector attracts only 5 per cent out of the country's total FDI, and exported goods worth Rs 12 lakh crore in the financial year 2022-23, which is 33 per cent share in the country's total exports, data showed.

"The key thing that investors look for is being competitive, globally. So if the location helps you in making your manufacturing competitive both in the domestic market and the export market, that is the best a state can help manufacturing for and that is excellent in Gujarat," said Maruti Suzuki's Executive Director of Corporate Affairs Rahul Bharti.

Talking about Gujarat's growing industrial exports, Vice President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sandeep Engineer, said the summit played an important role in that.

"Modi saab, our honourable prime minister, right from the inception of Vibrant (Summit), has not only taken this initiative at the state level and the country level, but also at the international level," he said.

"He was traveling with delegates to various countries and talking to various enterprises to see if they come to India, they put their companies, they established their companies in Gujarat," he added.