Mumbai, Oct 17: Observing that India will be named as a leading country in the field of maritime trade in coming times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that there is a huge opportunity for global investors to invest in ports and ship-building sector of the country.
Speaking at inauguration of the third Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS) 2023 via video conference, he said that India was moving towards the third largest economy in the world and maritime trade would play a major role in this, he noted.
He called upon global investors to tap into it.
He further said, “After 2021, following corona pandemic, many changes occurred around the world. The world is looking at India with different expectations. Soon India will be one of top three economies in the world.”
Modi further said that since maritime trade plays a major role in the economy, efforts have been made to strengthen the maritime policy over past nine years.
He said that the Logistics Performance Index has improved a lot in last nine years.
“There is no doubt that we will soon take the country to the forefront in ship-building,” he asserted.
Emphasising on ‘Make in India’, he informed that ship-building and repair works will be started at many places in the country in coming times.
India has important things like development, demography, democracy and demand, therefore, it has full potential to become a leading country in this field, he said.
The Prime Minister announced that a National Maritime Complex will be built at Lothal Dockyard.
On this occasion, he inaugurated projects worth more than Rs 23,000 crore.
The Prime Minister also laid foundation stone of over Rs 4,500 crore “Tuna Tekra” all-weather deep draught terminal at Deendayal Port Authority in Gujarat.
Modi unveiled the long-term blueprint for the Indian Ocean blue economy, ‘Amrit Kal Vision 2047’. The
blueprint includes a number of strategic measures to promote sustainable practices and enhance international cooperation, including enhancing services at ports.
On this occasion, more than 300 MoUs worth more than Rs seven lakh crore regarding global and national partnerships in the maritime domain were also signed, said a press statement issued by the office of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
