The ‘Global Maritime India Summit 2023’, one of the biggest such events in the world, recorded a major investment of Rs 2.37 lakh crore on its second day on Wednesday. At least 70 agreements were signed between different industries in the maritime sector — port development and modernisation, ‘green’ hydrogen, port-led development, business and commerce, ship building and knowledge sharing as well as port connectivity.
Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said these pacts were signed with focus on sustainable development. “Today, at the Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 has ushered a new age in sustainable development of the country with a record number of 70 MoUs with an investment of Rs 2.37 lakh crore. The maritime sector is playing an instrumental role as it has paved the way for India set sail towards ‘green’ sustainability transportation. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has experienced a historic growth in the last nine years. Maritime sector is no exception as we are giving major thrust to the future growth multipliers. Under Modi ji’s inspired leadership, India has scaled new heights to become fifth largest economy in the world. Now, Modi ji has given us another target to further scale the growth story of India. To achieve this, GMIS plays a pivotal role and I am happy to share the exchange of ideas as well as understandings with clear vision to make India a developed country by 2047,” Sonowal said at the three-day summit being held in Mumbai.
Union ministers Shripad Naik and Shantanu Thakur were also present on the occasion. Sonowal held bilateral meetings with ministers from Italy, Tanzania and Sri Lanka.
The first meeting was with Italian deputy minister of infrastructure and transport (minister of ports), Edoardo Rixi. The meeting was also attended by the ministry secretary TK Ramachandran. Both ministers agreed to enhance maritime cooperation on identified industries in order to build on the robust maritime relationship between the two countries.
During the second meeting, Sonowal met minister of blue economy and fisheries from Tanzania, Suleiman Masoud Madame. In the third meeting with Sri Lankan minister of ports, shipping and aviation, Siripala De Silva, the union minister discussed multiple issues to further strengthen and deepen the maritime relationship between the two countries.
The second day of the GMIS featured a series of insightful sessions, each addressing critical aspects of the maritime industry ranging from ‘green’ shipping and ports to the latest trends in shipping and maritime logistics. The first session chaired by union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey initiated the discussion around the role of the shipping sector in aligning with the goals set by the ministry of environment and forests for a sustainable and environmentally responsible future.
This was followed by sessions related to the latest trends in shipping and maritime logistics as well as dredging chaired by Thakur. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari deliberated virtually on developing inland waterways as an integrated element of multimodal economic corridors and strategies as well as roadmap to promote coastal shipping as preferred mode of transport. Naik highlighted the various measures and initiatives to promote cruise tourism during his session.
The second day of the GMIS 2023 ended with a roundtable on Chabahar Port and its role in enhancing regional connectivity and its inclusion in International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) co-chaired by Sonowal and union minister Meenakshi Lekhi.
In an effort to boost maritime trade and commerce via national waterways 2 (Brahmaputra), an agreement was signed between India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) and A to Z Exit. The pact has set the framework to explore the possibility of transportation of various cargo between different destinations of the northeastern region of India and Bangladesh. This will provide support by facilitating with adequate volume of trade that needs to be shipped or imported into Bhutan from India, Bangladesh among other countries using ports operated in India.
Earlier, on the first day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for 21 projects worth Rs 18,800 crore with 34 agreements worth Rs 3.24 lakh crore inked during the inaugural session — ‘green’ projects having share of Rs 1.8 lakh crore and projects of port development and modernisation worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore.
The prime minister also launched Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 – a roadmap for maritime sector development for the next 25 years. At the roundtable on Global Economic Corridors, 60 representatives from different countries attended, including CEOs from 33 international companies and 17 Indian companies.
The inaugural session also witnessed 10 ministers from different countries joined Sonowal at the event, while 21 ministers from 10 countries took part in different sessions.
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