The Council of EU Chambers of Commerce in India (EU Chambers) participated at the UP Global Investors Summit 2023 as one of the International Partners. The Summit was organized by the Government of Uttar Pradesh from 10-12th February 2023 in Golden City of the East, Lucknow. The Summit witnessed an active participation of Companies not only from India but also from all over the world.

The theme of the three-day Summit was “New India’s Growth Engine”. EU Chambers encouraged foreign investors to participate at the Summit and promoted the State of Uttar Pradesh as a state of strong vision and potential.

As an international partner, EU Chambers mobilized a Business Delegation from various European countries viz. France, Denmark, Spain and Sweden belonging to different sectors like Electronics, Engineering, IT & Software, Automotive, Representative Trade offices, Luxury Products, Medical Devices, Textile, Shipping and Logistics etc. The Business Delegation consists of 8 members as below from various member’ state of EU Nations:

  1. Renu Shome, Director, The Council of EU Chambers of Commerce in India (Delegation Leader)
  2. Véronique Poles, Founder, Poles Luxe Consulting, France
  3. Mangharam Harwani, Founder, VNN International ApS, Denmark
  4. Beena Mangharam Harwani, Director, VNN International ApS, Denmark
  5. Siladitya Sarangi, Country Manager India, Deoleo India Private Limited, Spain
  6. Hemant Agarwal, Director- India Office, Basque Trade and Investment, Spain
  7. Tapodhan Manavi, Regional Director- India, Absortech India, Sweden
  8. Sasi Nair, Senior Area General Manager- North India, CMA CGM Agencies (India) Pvt. Ltd., France

The delegates were from the companies who have business interest in India and are looking for appropriate opportunities. Their intention to visit Uttar Pradesh was to explore the opportunities in their sectors  in the State and to know more about the offering and incentives the State can offer to their respective companies.

The delegates on their three day visit to the Summit were able to conclude fruitful meetings with the attendees of the Global Investors Summit. The Summit was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi. At the inaugural day of the Global Investors Summit the delegates attended the Inauguration followed by various thematic sessions. The delegates found the thematic sessions quite interesting, informative and provided the opportunity of good networking.

The delegates concluded individual meetings at the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit. They also had meetings with relevant companies at the EU Chambers Stall.

The delegates had a closed-door meeting with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath. The Chief Minister welcomed the delegate with warmth, he was very enthusiastic.

The delegation was headed by Dr. Renu Shome, Director, EU Chambers. She briefed the Hon’ble Chief Minister about the activities of EU Chambers and said that the EU Chambers aims is to promote business between EU and India and the Chamber sees Uttar Pradesh as a potential State and will encourage companies to invest and have business activities in Uttar Pradesh as the State has transformed substantially under the Hon’ble Chief Minister’s leadership.

Delegates had an opportunity to introduce themselves and their company. Each delegate put forth their ideas which were duly heard and answered by the Hon’ble Chief Minister. The discussion at the meeting included issues such as start-up, collaboration with handmade textile industry of the State, food processing units, renewable energy and film city. The Chief Minister encouraged and welcomed the delegates to invest and expand in UP and ensured his full support for the same. He mentioned that there is a lot of ease in doing business in UP, the government is very proactive and offers good incentives. He also mentioned that UP has a well-established transportation with a rail network of 16000km. The dedicated freight corridor looks after the mobilisation of financial resources, development and construction. The tourism sector has potential opportunities for investment in UP. He discussed the technological advancement in the IT sector. He also talked about the efficient hydro energy facilitated in the rural parts of Uttar Pradesh and highlighted that the State is blessed with abundant land bank thus making it the next destination for investment and development.

The Global trade show and sector specific knowledge sessions at the Summit proved to be beneficial to all the delegates as they were able to meet Companies from various sectors. The delegates were positive and hope for future collaborations with those companies. The EU Chambers also had several meetings with SMEs and start-ups from Uttar Pradesh who are willing to expand or are looking for some hand holding. They were many companies which were keen to associate with the Chamber to explore business opportunities.

The EU Chambers stall had good footfalls of around 400 visitors during three days of Summit held from 10th – 12th February, 2023. Our participation at the UP Global Investors Summit was quite fruitful and hope to work with the UP Government in close coordination to attract companies be the part of development of Uttar Pradesh.