According to a
release, held from October 26 to November 2, the eight-day roadshow also
included six site and facility visits and three engagements with the Indian and
Gujarati diaspora across the two countries. The outreach aimed to strengthen
economic partnerships, attract investments and showcase opportunities in
Gujarat across critical minerals, energy, renewable energy, technology,
logistics, education, sports infrastructure and tourism. The delegation included senior Gujarat
government officials, Chief Commissioner of State Tax Roopwant Singh, IAS, and
Commissioner of Geology and Mining Dhaval Patel, IAS. Industry representatives
accompanying the minister included Shreyans Goyal, Chairman and Managing
Director of Shakti Group Companies; Mehul Vaidya, Senior Vice President
(Project Development) at Reliance Industries Ltd.; Milan Thakkar, Director of
Alexius Projects Pvt. Ltd.; and Harshil Tamakuwala, Founder and Director of
Hindustan Mag Pvt. Ltd. During its
October 26-30 visit to Australia, the delegation travelled to Melbourne, Sydney
and Brisbane and held nine one-to-one meetings with companies, investors and
institutions, including Cavendish Renewable Technology, Cox Architecture,
Initiative Sports & Events, Eyeonic, Progia Foods, Aus Energy Store, the
Centre for Australia-India Relations, Endua and Populous. It also held three ministerial-level
meetings with Anoulack Chanthivong, NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair
Trading, Industry and Trade, Innovation, Science and Technology, Building and
Corrections; Warren Kirby, Member for Riverstone and Co-Chair of the NSW
Parliamentary Friends of India; and Mark Joseph Coure, NSW Shadow
Minister. Six sector-focused
roundtables, hosted by AFL, TerraNext World, the Smart Energy Council and INQ
Innovation Global, brought together more than 100 participants from government,
industry, academia and startups. The discussions covered sports infrastructure
and major events, critical mineral supply chains, renewable energy and
innovation-led entrepreneurship. The
programme also included executive dialogues at the second Australia-India
Business Meet 2026 in Sydney on commercial partnerships, along with engagements
with the Queensland government in Brisbane on resources, energy, sports
infrastructure and opportunities linked to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
The delegation visited Monash University, Cricket Australia at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground (MCG), Marvel Stadium and Gabba Stadium to study practices
relevant to Gujarat’s development priorities. The Australian leg covered critical
minerals, energy, technology, education, sports events and infrastructure, and
tourism. The delegation also held diaspora engagements in Melbourne and
Brisbane, inviting the Indian and Gujarati communities to participate in VGGS
2027 as ambassadors of Gujarat. In
New Zealand, the delegation visited Auckland on November 1 and 2 and held
one-to-one meetings with Contact Energy and Service Foods. It also held a
ministerial-level meeting with Simeon Brown, New Zealand’s Minister of Health,
Energy and State-Owned Enterprises.
Two sector-focused roundtables were organised, one on energy and
petrochemicals by the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) and another by
the India New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (INZCCI). Together, they
drew more than 50 participants, including representatives from Mainfreight Air
& Ocean, Hiringa Energy, Energy Resources Aotearoa, Bank of New Zealand,
Elemental Group and Taranaki Chamber of Commerce. The delegation also visited Contact
Energy’s first grid-scale Glenbrook Ohurua Battery project. The engagements
covered renewable energy, battery storage, logistics, banking and financial
services, scientific research and technology. A diaspora interaction in
Auckland connected the delegation with the Indian and Gujarati community in New
Zealand.
The roadshow is
part of Gujarat’s global outreach ahead of the 11th edition of the Vibrant
Gujarat Global Summit, scheduled to be held from January 10 to 12, 2027, at
Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
Launched in 2003, the summit is the Gujarat government’s flagship platform for
investment, business networking and knowledge sharing. The theme for VGGS 2027
is ‘Viksit Gujarat—Shaping Global Future.’