Gujarat is perhaps first state which is able to attract more than 70 diplomats including 40 Ambassadors on dinner meeting with Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Capital. On invitation of Gujarat Chief Minister, ambassadors from China, Japan, Russia, Canada, Egypt, Switzerland, Pakistan, Greece, Germany, etc. participated in this ambassador meet. This shows that most of the countries have shown their interest for investment in Gujarat. The fact that Gujarat is a most preferred investment destination is now well acknowledged and the decision of Tata Motors for relocating their Nano project in Gujarat is a recent testimony to this fact.

Gujarat is gearing up to organise the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2009 (VGGIS) on 12th & 13th January at Ahmedabad. In a dinner meeting with diplomats, Chief Minister invited them to participate in VGGIS. He also requested them to organize a visit of business leaders from their nations. The most of countries have shown their interest in Gujarat.

After screening the film on development of Gujarat, on the potential investment, Shri Modi said that the infrastructure development in State encompasses new areas as diverse as gas grid, private railways lines, optical fiber network, water supply network etc. The strength of State Government in development has been proven Public-Private Partnership model.

Gujarat is already globally known in sectors of textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, engineering, diamonds etc. We have also made good beginnings in ship building and railway coach making. With the Nano car manufacturing in Gujarat the State will have massive global presence in manufacturing of surface transport system.

The state is capitalising on its long coastline of 1600 km through port-led development which includes development of new ports, SEZs, connectivity with the hinterland, cold chain, ship-building yards, ship-repair facilities and inter-port transport systems. We are pumping in an additional investment of Rs.150 billions for developing port-related infrastructure at 10 intermediate and minor ports. Gujarat has always been known for its quality of roads. The village connectivity is as high as 98.86%. Expressway between Ahmedabad and Vadodara, once extended right up to Mumbai, will make it a high speed passenger corridor. Excellent six lane road connectivity is being provided to the ports too.

Gujarat has emerged as Petro Capital of the country. The State is laying a 2200 km long high pressure gas grid which is expected to reach all the districts of Gujarat in next 2-3 years to cater to the requirement of industrial, commercial and domestic sectors. Two LNG terminals already in place and two upcoming LNG terminals to ensure adequate gas supply.

Speaking on Special Economic Zones (SEZs), he said that Gujarat was amongst the earliest States to enact an SEZ Act in 2004. We have offered complete labour flexibility to the units set up in SEZs in Gujarat. Today, as many as 55 SEZs have been approved in the state and these would be developed with world class amenities.

Stating about Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Gujarat CM apprised that 38% of the total length of these corridors falls in Gujarat. As a part of this, six industrial nodes have been proposed for the state of Gujarat which is expected to generate an investment of about 100 billion US Dollars and provide employment to 800,000 people.

He also apprised that Gujarat International Finance Tech City (GIFT), is being set up between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar with an estimated capital outlay of Rs.150 billion on 500 acres of land with state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and land mark buildings. We aim to make this City as an international commercial and financial hub like New York and Frankfurt. This City offers good opportunities to the foreign financial companies to set up their offices. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by May 2010.

Gujarat has massive programmes for raising the quality of lives in all villages, municipalities and major cities to focus on cleanliness, infrastructure, health, education and employment opportunities. Highlighting on this innovative programme, Gujarat CM said that we are working presently on a concept called ‘rurban’ which is a big village having all the amenities that a city can strive for, but the soul would remain as ethnic as ever. The State is determined to work for raising the Human Development Index throughout the State.

Senior Officers from Govt of Gujarat and Govt of India attended the Ambassador Meet.

Related reading on DeshGujarat

Narendra Modi’s Blitzkrieg: A savior for Brand India
When asked Why Gujarat, Tata’s answer was Modi
Narendra Modi in Garba Grounds:Youths were jubilant
Modi to the Masses:Leadership lessons from Gandhi to Koizumi
Gujarat’s Chiranjeev scheme saves 9000 lives
Where there’s a will, there’s Gujarat and there’s a Narendra Modi
Why Narendra Modi’s Gujarat address on Teachers day was remarkable

Modi on his Success,Failure,Vision,Opposition and more(Video)