Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday said the Global Investors Meet would give further impetus to the sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development of Himachal Pradesh.

Addressing the investors, Thakur said the people of the state were fortunate that Himachal was always close to the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it was the second visit to the state within a period of one year which shows the love and affection.

“Be it your visit to Israel wearing the Himachali cap or your mention of ‘Chicago to Shimla’ in the recent ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, USA, you have brought Himachal Pradesh to the global arena,” he said.

Thakur said that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister the nation was changing and so was the economy and image of the country. The vibrant Gujarat event organised by Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat has showed the way to attract investment for the State. Inspired by the success of Gujarat, Himachal also decided to organise the Meet to woo investment for the state.

He said that the state government took the historic decision of showcasing State’s immense potential for investment through Rising Himachal- Global Investors’ Meet with the objective of providing further impetus development in the State.

He said that three international roadshows and six domestic roadshows and conclaves were organised within the state and the State also had meetings with Ambassadors from over 50 countries. The state government has set a target of attracting investment of Rs 85,000 crore and has so far signed 603 MoUs for the investment of Rs 92,439 crore.

Himachal was keen at developing it as the hub of research and development in pharmaceuticals and establish it as bulk drug pharma hub thereby reducing the nation’s import bill.

The pristine beauty, cleanest air in the country, peaceful environment, cultural diversity and linguistic plurality makes Himachal Pradesh is one of the most visited states in the country. The state offers visitors a variety of choices such as adventure, wildlife, eco-tourism, heritage, spiritual etc and the government was committed to make sustainable tourism as one of the prime engines of growth in the state by establishing it as a leading global sustainable tourism destination.

Jai Ram Thakur said that the state offers attractive incentives under the Industrial Investment Policy to boost industrialisation across the State and make it more attractive and industry-friendly.

He said that various policies such as Tourism policy, Film policy, Information Technology policy, AYUSH Policy, Affordable Housing Policy were framed to attract investment in these sectors. He said that the government has taken an holistic view to attract tourism in the State.

Thakur added the two-day Meet would provide a platform to bring together heads of the state, leaders from the corporate world, senior policymakers, development agencies, heads from institutions of international repute and academia from across the world.

Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Minister of State for Tourism Prahlad S Patel, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur, Chief Minister of Sikkim Pawan Kumar Tamang, Cabinet Ministers, Vice Chairman NITI Ayog Rajiv Kumar, Health Minister of Bihar Mangal Pandey, MLAs, MPs were present on the occasion.

From industry side, Ambassador of UAE in India Ahmed AI Banna, Director General of Confederation of Indian Industries (National Partner) Chandrajit Banerjee, Founder and Chairman BRS Ventures Dr B.R.Shetty, Chairman Maruti Suzuki India Ltd R C Bhargava, Chairman Energy and International Airports GMR Group Srinivas Bommidala, Vice Chairman Bharti Enterprise Ltd Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Managing Director of Adani Agro, Oil and Gas Pranav Adani were present among others.