13th CII partnership summit to kick start tomorrow

Bangalore, Jan 16 (UNI) The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a premier industrial body of the country, will hold its annual Partnership Summit here from tomorrow aiming to identify opportunities arising from evolving economic engagement between India and the world besides helping build key strategies and partnerships for actualising these opportunities.

Being held in this hi-tech city for the second time, the flagship event of CII has the theme ''emergent India:new Roles and Responsibilities'' The Conference, to be inaugurated by Portugal President Anibal Antonio Cavaco Silva in the presence of Union Commerce Minister Kamalnath and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, was aimed to position India as a critical and responsible partner in geopolitics besides offering a platform to promote India as a profitable and stable investment destination.

With more than 700 overseas delegates among 2000 odd participants, the three-day Summit would have 26 business delegations, a record for the partnership summit besides 25 Ministers from India and foreign countries.

About a 10 plenary sessions would be held during the mega event discussing various issues including inovation, globalisation, multilateral trade with regional trade agreements, global outlook, Human relations and emergence of India in the global market besides Karnataka, the partner state for the summit. There would also be a special plenary on the state to be attended by Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

The theme paper circulated by the CII underlined the need for constructive partnerships of nations to converge the forces of globalisation with the compulsions of development.

The paper said ''India's growth story was only a couple of decades in the making and its model of economic progress is already overturning conventional economic development theories''. The growth of this huge country would be closely watched by the world, for its unique path in taking 1.1 billion people towards progress under a democratic policy as well as for its impact on the rest of the world.

The CII said true to India's emerging international stature, Indin companies too were expected to enhance their global presence evenas the world incresingly viewed the country as a hub for knowledge, services and manufacturing. ''As India Inc spreads its wings across the globe, it must build bilateral and multilateral partnerships for mutual benefit of all parties'', it said.

Among the key speakers at the Summit would be former Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, Director General of World Trade Organisation Pascal Lamy, UK Chancellor of Exchequer Gordon Brown, UK Secretary of state for Tradce and Industry Alistair Darling, MP., Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda, Kuwait Minsiter for Trade and Industry Engr Falah Fahad Mohammad Ai-hajri besides Ministers from Sri Lanka, Chile, New Zealand, Japan, Zambia, Singapore, Romania, France and President for European bank for Reconstruction and Development Francois Loos.

UNI