World looking at us with new aspirations: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is gaining economic strength and will soon be among the top three global economies. He emphasized the importance of the maritime sector and highlighted the potential benefits of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Modi also announced projects worth over ₹23,000 crore and unveiled the 'Amrit Kaal Vision 2047' for the Indian maritime blue economy. The Global Maritime India Summit aims to attract investment in the maritime sector and will discuss various key issues in the industry.

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the entire world is looking towards India with new aspirations and the day is not far when the country will be among the top three global economies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the inauguration of the Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS) 2023 via a video conference, on Tuesday. (PTI)

“In this changing world order, the whole world is looking towards India with new aspirations. The Indian economy is gathering more strength while the world is in the grip of an economic crisis. The day is not far when India will be one of the top three economic powers of the world,” he said, as he virtually inaugurated the three-day Global Maritime India Summit being held in Mumbai.

Underlining the importance of the country’s maritime sector, Modi said: “History bears witness that whenever India’s maritime capability has been strong, the country and the world have benefited greatly from it. Taking this as our guiding principle, we have been working in a planned manner for the last nine years to strengthen this sector.”

He also said the maritime industry will receive a major boost once the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is implemented.

“Recently, during the G20 Summit, a historic consensus was reached on forming an India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. This is a huge step at India’s initiative, which could potentially rejuvenate the maritime industry across the world in the 21st century,” he said.

Conceived as an ambitious project quietly by India and close ally UAE two-and-a-half years ago, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor was announced by a galaxy of leaders on the side-lines of G-20 summit with support from US led Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) last month. The project envisages movement of goods through standardized containers from India to Fujairah Port on the eastern seaboard of UAE and then to Port of Haifa in Israel through 2,650 kilometer of railroad via Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

“The India of today is working to fulfill the resolution of becoming a developed nation in the next 25 years,” Modi said. “The government is bringing about revolutionary changes in every sector, and a lot has been done to strengthen the maritime sector. In the last decade, the capacity of major ports has doubled, and turnaround time for big vessels has come down to less than 24 hours as compared to 42 hours in 2014,” he added.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for projects worth over ₹23,000 crore. He also unveiled the ‘Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’ for the Indian maritime blue economy.

Speaking about the government’s focus on the ship-building and repair sector, he said: “INS Vikrant is proof of India’s ship-building capacity. India is going to become one of the top five ship-building nations in the coming decade. Our Mantra is ‘Make in India, Make for the World’. The government is working to bring together all stakeholders in the sector through maritime clusters. Ship-building and repair centers will be developed at many places.”

Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said an “expected investment of ₹10 lakh crore and more than 300 MoUs are likely to be signed during the summit”. “Through Global Maritime India Summit, Bharat is definitely going to become a leading maritime nation in the coming times and the progress that has been achieved, the development that has been possible in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways in the last 9.5 years are under the guidance of PM Modi,” he told news agency ANI.

The three-day maritime summit is being held from October 17 to 19 at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai. The first summit was held in Mumbai in 2016 and the second was held virtually in 2021.

The event will discuss and deliberate key issues of the maritime sector, including ports of the future; decarbonisation; coastal shipping and inland water transportation; shipbuilding; repair and recycling; finance, insurance & arbitration; maritime clusters; innovation and technology; maritime safety and security, and maritime tourism, among others. It will also provide a platform for attracting investment in the maritime sector of the country.