Vibrant Gujarat delegation receives overwhelming response in Houston

Vibrant Gujarat delegation receives overwhelming response in Houston New Delhi, After a successful visit to Chicago, the Vibrant Gujarat delegation visited Houston with an objective of further strengthening the brand India and brand Vibrant Gujarat to further explore and facilitate Houston based companies to invest and do business in Gujarat. The delegation from Gujarat, leading chemical and petrochemical hub of India, met with a large number of Government officials and CEOs of top companies in Houston, recognized globally for the oil and gas industry. The Vibrant Gujarat international delegation led by Shri Bharat Lal, Resident Commissioner, Government of Gujarat, comprised of Government officials and business leaders.The delegation met more than 80top officials of Houston based companies and senior Government officials during the roadshow and series of one-to-one meetings organised from 10th - 12th September, 2016. Over the weekend, the delegation had high profile meetings in Houston which includesa reception-cum-dinner hosted by CEO Mr. Peter Huntsman, Huntsman Corporation. The company is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with revenues (2015) of over $10 billion. The delegation also met with Mr. Bhavesh Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, one of the world’s leading chemical company. The top management of both the companies discussed the possible opportunities in India and more specifically to Gujarat. Vibrant Gujarat delegationmet with more than 40 prominent business leaders of Indian diaspora over luncheon that was organized by Amit Bhandari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Biourja. The Indian diaspora included the top management of the companies that had operations in both US and India. A roadshow was organised by US-India Business Council (USIBC), Indo-American Chamber of Commerce & Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on 12th Septemberat King & Spalding office, one of the international law firm. The roadshow was attended by more than 50 business leaders of the top notch Houston based companies. During the roadshow, Mr. Michael Taylor, Partner, King & Spalding,welcomed the delegation and hosted an interactive luncheon session. Shri Anupam Ray, Counsel General of India, Houston, spoke about the India being the largest and the fastest growing economy of the world. He mentioned India and US are the natural partners and would look forward to support the business community and take this relationship to the next level. Shri Bharat Lal, underlined the rapid economic development that is taking place in India and the policies that are being formulated at national level by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. He referred Gujarat being the driving engine of India. The State also accounts for 19% of industrial output, 41% of cargo exports and 10% of India’s manufacturing industries. He mentioned that, Gujarat ranked number one in “ease of doing business” because of the progressive policies of the State and the industry friendly eco-system that is being created for business communities.Harris County Judge Ed Emmettwho was special invitee at the roadshow, spoke highly about US - India relationship. Mr. Devendra Agarwal, General Manager, Gujarat State Petronet Ltd., spoke about Gujarat being the frontrunner in the Oil & Gas sector in the country. He highlighted the biggest gas pipeline Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur, that originates from Surat in Gujarat and extends to Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh.The gas reserves lead to investment inflow into the State and subsequently three refineries, four major fertilizers plants and steel plants have come up in the State of Gujarat. Mr. Deepak Bagla, CEO Invest India spoke about the change which is taking place in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi. He mentioned about the development of industrial corridors, modernization of railway stations, growth witnessed in the aviation sector and the tremendous opportunities that are existing in the infrastructure sector. Mr. DhamoDhamotharan, Group Chief Executive – AECOM, spoke about his gratifying experience during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2013. He spoke about the high-profile projects the company is involved in India such as - Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and Smart cities.The Company is also the proud partner of Gujarat Maritime Board and Ministry of Shipping to support the Sagar Mala port development projects. He appreciated the support and guidance received from the Gujarat State Government on multiple projects and encouraged the business leaders to consider investment in Gujarat. Vibrant Gujarat delegation had series of the one-to-one meetings with the CEO’s and the top management of companies such as Expedien, Petronet Ltd, Chevron, Black and Veatch, Advance Research Chemicals, Joshi Oil & Gas, All Star Metals, Shipcom Wireless and Texas Medical Center. Delegation also discussed the possible collaborations with the senior representatives of University of North Texas and University of Texas at Arlington. Shri Bharat Lal met with Dr. Robbins,President & CEO of Texas Medical Center, which is the largest medical complex in the world and is at the forefront of advancing life sciences. Shri Bharat Lal, extended invitation to the CEOs and the top business leaders to Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit; taking place from 10th – 13th January 2017. He emphasized that the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit will be an opportunity for the companies to meet the Heads of State Governments, Ministers, senior policy makers, heads of international institutions and executives from the corporate world from around the world. The visit of Vibrant Gujarat delegation to Houston came to a successful end with a reception-cum-dinner hosted by Shri Anupam Ray, Counsel General of India, Houston.It is a remarkable achievement for the Vibrant Gujarat delegation as it received overwhelming response in all the cities so far - Toronto, Montreal, Chicago and Houston. From here, the delegation moves to Washington DC to promote Gujarat and attract investment to further accelerate the economic growth of the State. +++++++++++++++