Seventy agreements worth Rs 2.37 lk cr signed on Day 2 of three-day Global Maritime India Summit

The summit will see the participation of ministers from across the globe representing countries from Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia (including central Asia, the Middle East and the BIMSTEC region)

Around 70 agreements worth Rs 2.37 lakh crore were signed on the second day of the three-day Global Maritime India Summit, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced at the summit in Mumbai on October 18.

"In total 14 memorandum of understanding in port development, 10 MoUs in trade and business, 8 MoUs in green hydrogen and Ammonia and 3 MoUs in port operations and management were signed today," Sonowal said at a press conference.

The second round of MoUs signed by the government comes after 34 agreements worth Rs 3.24 lakh crore were signed on the first day of the Global Maritime India Summit.

Out of the 34 MoUs signed on Day 1, agreements for green projects amounted to Rs 1.8 lakh crore, while agreements worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore were signed for port development and modernisation, Sonowal said.

The signing of these pacts underlined the commitment of various stakeholders to transform India into a maritime powerhouse, the shipping ministry said.

The minister added that officials from 10 countries participated in the various sessions at the Global Maritime India Summit.

"Thirty-three international CEOs and 17 Indian CEOs participated in the CEO forum at the event," Sonowal added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the third edition of the three-day Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS), via video-conferencing on October 17 and unveiled "Amrit Kaal Vision 2047", a long-term blueprint for the Indian maritime economy.

PM Modi said investors have an opportunity to partner with the country and be a part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).

Speaking after the inauguration of the Global Maritime India Summit here, the PM said India took the lead at the G-20 summit to form a consensus on the corridor.

Very few countries are blessed with development, demography, democracy and demand, Modi said and invited global investors to be part of India's growth journey.

PM Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for port-related projects worth over Rs 18,800 crore at the third edition of the summit. He also launched the foundation stone for the Rs 4,539-crore Tuna Tekra all-weather deep-draft terminal at the Deendayal Port Authority in Gujarat, which is being developed to aid the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor.

The summit will see the participation of ministers from across the globe representing countries from Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia (including central Asia, the Middle East and the BIMSTEC region).

The mega maritime event will be attended by global CEOs, business leaders, investors, officials and other stakeholders globally.

The Israel-Hamas war is expected to hit attendance of the upcoming Global Maritime India Summit – 2023, with many senior government officials from Greece, Egypt, Israel and Turkey cancelling travel plans to India, several government officials told Moneycontrol.

"Senior leadership from Israel and Egypt were expected to travel to India for the global summit, but have cancelled travel plans after the horrific attacks by Hamas against Israel sparked a war in the region," a senior government said.

He added that around 10 senior officials and executives from Israel, including former Ambassador of Israel to India Ron Malka, now Executive Chairman of Haifa Port Co, were expected at the summit but have now backed out.