The ministry of ports, shipping and waterways is organising the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 (GMIS-2023) in Mumbai from on 17-19 at MMRDA, BKC. The event, which is going to be the 3rd edition of the GMIS, is expected to be larger in scale and more inclusive than the earlier summits of 2016 and 2021 in terms of and participation.

Addressing a press conference, union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that in line with the prime minister’s vision of ‘One Earth One Family One Future’, each session of GMIS-2023 is designed to deliberate upon pressing global maritime issues.

Ministers of state for ports, shipping and waterways Shripad Y Naik and Shantanu Thakur, MoPSW secretary T K Ramachandran and Mumbai Port Trust chairman Rajiv Jalota were also present.

"Our vision is to foster a blue economy, promote the development of green ports, sustainable infrastructure, cruise tourism and attract global investments to propel the maritime industry forward," said Sonowal.

“GMIS 2023 is aligned with the prime minister’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and captures a wide range of opportunities for public-private partnerships with investment opportunities of Rs.10 lakh crore already identified across the sector with potential to generate more than 15 lakh job opportunities,” he added.

Sonowal also released a booklet titled ‘Navigating Excellence: India’s Maritime Sector’ on the occasion.

Speaking at the conference, Ramachandran said GMIS offers a wide canvas for public-private partnerships in diverse maritime sectors like ports, shipbuilding, waterways and maritime education.

“The summit has identified several focus areas including ports of the future, decarbonisation, coastal shipping and inland water transport (IWT), shipbuilding, repair and recycling, finance, insurance and arbitration, innovation and technology, maritime safety and security and maritime tourism,” he said.
 
More than 70 countries are expected to participate in the event. Senior ministers from the UAE, South Africa, Armenia, Italy, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Bangladesh and Madagascar will be present at the summit which will have the presence of more than 250 national and international speakers and CEOs. The event will have over 20 thematic sessions, including 7 international roundtables and more than 13 sectoral and state discussions. Discussions have also been planned on regional cooperation in BIMSTEC countries, Chabahar and INSTC (International North–South Transport Corridor), Africa, Indo Pacific, Europe and the newly launched IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor).