The Vibrant Gujarat Summit has drawn four prime ministers and several other world leaders are said to be finalising their plans to attend the meeting.
The prime ministers who have reportedly confirmed their attendance are Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark, Mark Rutte of Netherlands, Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong and Bhutan's Tshering Tobgay. The global leaders will have UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon for company .
The summit, to be held from January 11 to 13, 2015 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, will probably also welcome the PMs of Japan (Shinzo Abe) and Australia (Tony Abbott). In its history, Gujarat has never simultaneously hosted leaders of so many countries. The summit was conceived in 2003 by Narendra Modi, the current PM, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
Eight countries are partners of the summit. They are: the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, and South Africa. These countries are sending political and government figures to the event. Besides, Vibrant delegations from 150 other countries will converge on Gujarat.
Since US president Barack Obama is visiting India as the state guest for the Republic Day on January 26, a distinguished vanguard of US leaders may take part in the Vibrant summit. The Government of Gujarat has solicited the presence of chairpersons, presidents, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies for a programme that will be among the Vibrant highlights - the Global CEO Conclave. The conclave will be the first of its kind in India. Moreover, the state has called the CEOs of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple; their response is awaited. However, notables from manufacturing giants like Ford, GE, Suzuki, and PepsiCo, are expected to attend.
A source in the Gujarat government said, “So far, we have received confirmation from around 70 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.'' Along with CEOs, representatives of the world's most powerful economic institutions, like the World Bank, have received Vibrant invitations. The government has booked 750 rooms of three to seven-star hotels in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and categorized them by the profile of the guest list. The government has also planned to build a superluxury tent city of 300 units to meet the accommodation demand.
