The two-day Invest Kerala Global Summit concluded on Saturday evening with Industries Minister P Rajeeve pledging to make the Southern state an even more attractive destination for global investment.

Addressing the concluding session of the summit, attended by about 3000 delegates from India and abroad, he said the summit, at which investment proposals worth Rs 153000 crore were received, marks the beginning of building a ”United Kerala” for attracting investment.
He noted that not only the state government and the Congress-led Opposition but the BJP-led Centre have all come together to turn Kerala into an investment-friendly state. He was obviously referring to the presence of Union ministers and senior Opposition leaders at the two-day meet.
The concluding ceremony too was attended by Union Minister George Kurian.

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Mr Rajeeve said Kerala is striving to become a hub for the Industrial Revolution. Kerala has always been a front-runner in establishing a thriving ecosystem for businesses to flourish and the world is beginning to realise the potential the state holds in terms of investment.

He said as many as 27 countries, including France, Germany, Australia, South Korea and Vietnam participated in the summit. Ministers from the UAE and Bahrain were also present at the opening session. The Kerala minister said the UAE proposes to host an ”Invest Kerala” meet in July 2026.

Union Minister Kurian said the Centre is fully committed to providing all assistance to Kerala in attracting investment. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a very clear vision that the progress of states is essential for making India a developed nation by 2047. ”Our government is fully committed to promoting cooperative federalism,” he added.

France, which participated in a big way in the summit, said the innovation-driven growing Indo-French partnership offers a unique opportunity to Kerala to promote trade and economic ties with France in different areas.

Addressing the country-session on France, French Consul General for Puducherry and Chennai said Kerala has a lot going in its favour for attracting global investments, especially from France.

”Kerala is amazing…the feel of Kerala is difficult to resist. The state has a vibrant cultural scene and rich culinary traditions like we have in France. Kerala has achieved what no other Indian state has achieved in terms of human development,” the French diplomat said.

Wondering why Kerala has so far remained an uncharted territory for French companies, Mr Rolland-Piegue remarked, ”this benign neglect of Kerala is not bound to last long because relations between India and France are reaching new heights both at the political and economic level.”

Pointing out that some 750 French companies are currently operating in India employing about 4.5 lakh Indians, he said the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by France in India is also expected to increase five times in the near future.

He said France’s objective is to participate in a big way in Kerala’s knowledge economy, considering that the state has qualified talent in abundance.
Panelists at another session on “Kerala – a Small World of Big Opportunities” observed that Kerala has the potential to become the next Singapore with the Vizhinjam deep-sea port also coming into the picture, provided the right ecosystem is enabled through supportive policies.

The discussion, moderated by NITI Aayog former CEO and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, highlighted the impact of the Vizhinjam deep-sea port in Thiruvananthapuram and pointed out that it has the potential to mint a new Singapore out of the state.

In the early 1980s, Kerala’s per capita income was comparable to that of Singapore, but after four decades, the Lion City has zoomed ahead to $90,000. The changes in global trade, the development of technology, and Vizhinjam port are now fashioning a scenario that is offering Kerala a chance to transform itself, the panelists felt.

Mr Ashwani Gupta, Adani Ports and SEZ Limited CEO, said the effect of Vizhinjam port will benefit not just the state but the entire country, as 90 percent of trade by volume is done through seaports.