India’s maritime clocks record investment of Rs. 2.37 lakh crores on second day of GMIS 2023

70 MoU’s Signed, Session on Maritime Safety & Security Held

The Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS), 2023, one of the biggest maritime summits in the world, recorded major investments totalling Rs 2.37 lakh crores on October 18th, the second day of the 3-day summit held in Mumbai.

As many as 70 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were signed in the various industries of maritime sector, such as Port Development and modernisation, green hydrogen & ammonia, port led development, business & commerce, ship building, knowledge sharing & Port connectivity during the course of the day.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shripad Naik, and the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shantanu Thakur.

Following the MoU signing ceremony, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said, “Today, at the Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 has been 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 crores.

“The maritime sector is playing an instrumental role as it has paved the way for India to set sail towards Green Sustainability Transportation. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, India has experienced a historic growth in the last 9 years. The Maritime sector is no exception as we are giving major thrust to the future growth multipliers. Under Modiji’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 it, GMIS plays a pivotal role and I am happy to share the mammoth exchange of ideas as well as understandings with a clear vision to make India a developed country by 2047.”

Sonowal also held Ministerial level bilateral meetings with Mr Edoardo Rixi, Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister of Ports) Italy, Suleiman Masoud Madame of Blue Economy and Fisheries, Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar Tanzania, and Siripala De Silva, Minister of Ports, Shipping & Aviation, Sri Lanka, to enhance and develop maritime infrastructure along with focus on strengthening the Blue Economy.
The ministers also agreed to enhance maritime cooperation on identified industries in order to build on the robust maritime relationship, along with discussing multiple issues to further strengthen ties between the 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 to maritime safety and security.

ALIGNING WITH GOALS

The first session chaired by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Government of India 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 & maritime logistics and dredging chaired by Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, Nitin Gadkari deliberated virtually on developing inland waterways as an integrated element of multimodal economic corridors and Strategies and roadmap to promote coastal shipping as a preferred mode of transport.

Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, addressed the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 on its second day, focusing on maritime safety and security. Rai highlighted the significance of India’s SAGAR initiative, emphasizing its respect for the interests and rights of all nations.

Addressing the session, Rai said: “With India’s growing global stature, India’s responsibilities in the Indian Ocean are also increasing. Under India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All Regions) campaign, which has been operational since 2015, we are successfully and vigilantly monitoring the security of the Indian Ocean and all the friendly countries present in it and the maritime trade routes.”

While Dr Sanjeev Ranjan, Chairman National Shipping Boards was convener, Shri Shyam Jagannathan IAS, DGS, MoPSW was the co-convener of the session on Maritime safety and security. The session dwelled on various issues related to maritime security aspects within business development and seafaring. Safety challenges within aquaculture, fishing and several maritime sectors were addressed in this special issue with a focus on technological advances. Thus Peace, Safety Security and Sustainability would be the basic pre-requisite for ensuring Maritime safety and security.

Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism, Government of India highlighted the various measures and initiatives to promote cruise tourism during his session.

The day 2 of the GMIS 2023 concluded with a roundtable on Chabahar Port and its role in enhancing regional connectivity and its inclusion in INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) co-chaired by Sarbananda Sonowal and Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs & State for Culture, Government of India.

In a boost to ramp up maritime trade and commerce via National Waterways 2 (Brahmaputra), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between India- Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI), and A to Z Exit today.

The memorandum has set the framework to explore the possibility of transportation of various cargos between various destinations of the Northeast region of India and Bangladesh and would provide support by facilitating with adequate volume of trade that needs to be shipped or imported into Bhutan from India, Bangladesh, and any other country using the ports operated in India.

– Marex Media