The Indian economy has benefited from the climate of political stability in the country, prime minister Narendra Modi said, as he invited the global investor community to India.

Modi delivered the keynote address at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum and later interacted with global CEOs and senior executives of leading American companies in New York Wednesday.

Addressing the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, he talked about the future direction of India’s growth story. He that India’s growth story was built on four pillars, namely democracy, demography, demand and decisiveness. The PM also highlighted global recognition of the successful reforms introduced by the government. In this regard he mentioned the ten-rank jump in the Logistics Performance Index, the 13-point jump in the Global Competitiveness Index, the 24-rank rise in Global Innovation Index, and the 65-rank improvement in the Ease of Doing Business index of the World Bank.

The PM also spoke of the Bloomberg National Brand Tracker 2018 survey that recently ranked India as the top performing Asian economy in attracting global investment. In seven out of 10 indicators of this report – political stability, currency stability, high quality products, anti-corruption, low cost of production, strategic location and respect for IPRs, India has been ranked at the top position.

On the technology and innovation front, Modi invited the global business community to invest in India and stated that their technology and India’s talent can together change the world; their scale combined with India’s skill-set can accelerate global economic growth.

Later, he chaired an exclusive roundtable discussion, at New York, with 42 global captains of industry from across 20 sectors. The companies that participated in the roundtable had a combined net worth of US$ 16.4 trillion, of which their net worth in India is US$ 50 billion.

The gathering included Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and CEO of IBM; Douglas McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart; James Quincey, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola; Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin; Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JP Morgan; James D. Taiclet, CEO of American Tower Corporation and co-chair of the India-US CEO forum; and senior executives from Apple, Google, Marriott, VISA, Mastercard, 3M, Warburg Pincus, AECOM, Raytheon, Bank of America, and Pepsi among others.

The participants appreciated the great strides made by India in striving towards ease of doing business and many reforms which have led to a conducive environment for investors. The business leaders complimented the PM on taking strong decisions with a focus on Ease of Doing Business and making India more investor-friendly. The leaders also mentioned that their companies remained committed to the growth story of India and, on the back of this, continued to grow their footprint in India.

The CEOs briefly outlined their specific plans in India and also put forth recommendations to aid India’s efforts towards skill development, Digital India, Make in India, inclusive growth, green energy and financial inclusion.

In response to the CEOs’ comments, Modi stressed upon continued political stability, predictability of policy, and pro-development and pro-growth policies. He further emphasised the development of tourism, plastic recycling and waste management initiatives, and to enhance the business of MSMEs, especially those which create more opportunities for farmers and agriculture. He urged the companies to leverage the Startup India innovation platforms in partnership with other countries – to make solutions not only for India, but for the world, including challenging issues like nutrition and waste management.