GUWAHATI, Oct 9: Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday said that the forthcoming Global India Maritime Summit (GMIS), 2023 is expected to generate investments worth ₹10 trillion, with a potential to generate 15 lakh employment.
The third edition of the GMIS, 2023, a landmark event for the maritime sector will be held at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai from October 17 to 19.
The minister also confirmed that as many as 300 memorandums of understanding (MoU) will be signed at the GMIS, 2023. More than 70 countries along with 250 industry leaders will be attending the three-day event for comprehensive thematic discussions. The ministerial delegations from UAE, South Africa, Armenia, Italy, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Bangladesh and Madagascar have already been confirmed. The USA, Brazil, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea are some other major countries who will be attending the GMIS.
Addressing the media on Monday in Mumbai, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 is all set to unwrap investment opportunities worth ₹10 trillion, which will propel the maritime sector of the region. Over the years, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the GMIS has developed into a major platform for the global maritime sector to come together and chalk out way forward for the growth and development of the industry.”
“The role of maritime industry in ensuring economic growth is immense. The global realities of the day must be taken into account while hedging our ideas. It is intent to give shape a strategy of evolution for the maritime sector to act as a differentiator. Building on its earlier successes, GMIS, 2023 is aiming to scale a greater height by moving beyond the role of a traditional summit as it aims to serve as an optimal framework for global maritime collaborations,” he said.
“The summit’s comprehensive international representation amplifies its role as a unique platform for fostering regional cooperation. With the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Amrit Kaal, the summit is offering a wide canvas for public-private partnership (PPP) in diverse maritime sectors such as ports, shipbuilding, waterways and maritime education. We anticipate that GMIS 2023 will experience strong engagement from maritime stakeholders, thereby contributing materially to the global maritime landscape,” the union minister further said.
The event is expected to draw participation from more than 70 countries. A cadre of senior ministers from the UAE, South Africa, Armenia, Italy, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Bangladesh, and Madagascar will be attending. Non-ministerial delegations from the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan have also confirmed their attendance. The summit is poised to host over 250 national and international speakers and CEOs, in addition to conducting more than 20 thematic sessions, including seven international roundtables and over 13 sectoral and state discussions.
Approximately 150 exhibitors will participate in the event, adding further dimensions to the summit’s aim of spurring technological innovation and collaborative undertakings. The summit has identified several focus areas, including ports of the future, decarbonisation, coastal shipping and inland water transport (IWT), shipbuilding, repair and recycling, finance, insurance and arbitration, innovation and technology, maritime safety and security and maritime tourism.
Minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways and tourism, Shripad Naik, minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways, Shantanu Thakur and secretary to the ministry, TK Ramachandran were also present on the occasion.