GUWAHATI: The first ever investment promotion and facilitation initiative by the Government of Assam, ‘Advantage Assam – Global Investors’ Summit, 2018’ came to a successful closure today with a mammoth INR 100,000 crore worth of MoUs being signed over the two days of the summit. The event witnessed the luminaries of Indian business fraternity descending on the most talked about investment summit in the largest economy of North-Eastern India.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s thrust on the Act East Policy, Assam is swiftly becoming the most advantageous destination for all businesses aiming to connect with the ASEAN and BBIN nations.
Over the two days of the summit, delegates from Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, UK, USA and Vietnam exchanged ideas with industrialists from across the country and shared their valuable insights with the Government of Assam for evolving business relations in the state.
At his concluding speech during the valedictory function at the Global Investors’ Summit, Assam Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal said that Advantage Assam is an initiative for the younger generation of the state. “Today is a special day for us and today’s success is a reflection of the hard work put in by the team and all our officials for the last one and a half years. The main ambition of the event, held with the help of our Prime Minister Naredra Modi, is to provide the youngsters of the state with a better tomorrow by taking initiatives today and providing platforms for youth to enhance their skills. I thank everyone for their encouragement and support, and helping us make this event a grand success. We have many miles to go, and we look forward to your continued support in implementing all these initiatives which will not only benefit Assam but the northeastern region as a whole.”
Over the two days of the summit Assam received saw a mammoth 200 MoUs worth INR 100,000 crore signed . Day one of the summit saw companies like Oil India Limited will be investing INR 10,000 crore, Indo-UK Institute of Health will be investing INR 2,700 crore, Century Ply has shared plans of investing 2,100 crore, Spicejet outlined plans of INR 1,250 crore worth of investment for Assam through sea planes boosting the tourism sector besides connecting Lakhimpur and Jorhat under the Udaan Scheme. Infinity Group will be investing INR 1,000 crore in an IT Park and Real Estate in Guwahati. Medanta Group shared their proposal of INR 500 crore investment in the Healthcare sector. Essel Infra group will be investing in Road Infra, Power and Water Resource. Dalmia Bharat Cement announced an investment attuned to INR 1,100 crore. Tourism sector which is one of the key focus areas of the Govt. of Assam saw an investment proposal in concurrence of around INR 736 crore. Infrastructure sector a prime determinant of progress saw a total investment proposal worth INR 2,347 crore.
Day two of the summit witnessed ministers from different ASEAN and BBIN nations taking the stage to discuss North East Indian economic ties with the respective nations in the august presence of Union Minister of State for DONER, Jitendra Singh, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister Industries and Commerce and Act East Policy Affairs Dept. Government of Assam, Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director, ADB, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Dato Ramesh Kodammal, Co-Chairman AIBC, Md. Habib Chowdhury, Chairman, HSMM Group, Laos and Chairman AIBC.
The Summit on its second day witnessed primary focus on sectors such as IT & ITeS, Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Tourism, Civil Aviation, River Transport and Port Townships, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices and a special session on the opportunities in Bamboo. There were also two country sessions by the representatives from Bangladesh and Czech Republic respectively.