Thaindian News

Mumbai, Nov 10 (IANS) For the first time, Mumbai will host the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual 3-day India Economic Summit, officials from the WEF and its Indian partner, industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said Thursday.

Over 800 participants from 40 countries will take part in the summit under the theme of ‘Linking Leadership with Livelihood’, a CII official said.

WEF senior director and Asia head Sushant Palakurthi Rao said that coming to Mumbai this year is “symbolic of bringing the discussions from the centre to the states”.

“States in India play a critical role in shaping the success of the national economic agenda, and coming to Maharashtra, as one of the most economically important states in India, and to India’s commercial capital of Mumbai was a logical decision,” Rao observed.

“This year’s summit showcases the compelling opportunities that India has to offer in these turbulent economic times, as well as the actions that companies and civil leaders are taking to make sure the next phase of growth is equitable,” said CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee.

Welcoming the summit in Mumbai, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, in a statement ahead of the summit, said: “Maharashtra has entered an exciting era of accelerated industrial growth and socio-economic development, thereby creating a benchmark for the rest of the country. We are proud to invite leaders to this state of rich opportunities.”

Among those scheduled to participate in the summit are Planning Commission Deputy Chairman M.S. Ahluwalia, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal, his deputy Sachin Pilot, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari and Advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovations Sam G. Pitroda.

Besides, Chavan, his Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh counterparts, Oommen Chandy, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, respectively, will also participate in the deliberations.

Prominent foreign speakers at the IES include Britain’s Minister of State for Climate Change Gregory Barker, Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Tanzanian Industry and Trade Minister Cyril Chami, New South Wales’ (Australia) Premier Barry O’Farrell and British Columbia (Canada) Premier Christy Clark.

others will include US’ Office of Science and Technology Policy’s chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra, Asian Development Bank managing director general Rajat M. Nag, and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Asia and Pacific Department director Anoop Singh.