Horasis convened the 2013 Global India Business Meeting on 23-24 June in Belfast, Northern Ireland, co-hosted by the City of Belfast and Invest Northern Ireland. The Global India Business Meeting is the foremost annual gathering of Indian business leaders and their global counterparts. The meeting gathered 300 senior decision makers from business and government. Participants discussed and debated a wide range of issues related to the Indian economy. Download the Report, and visit the photo gallery.
Speaking on behalf of the host country, Peter Robinson, First Minister of Northern Ireland, said that Northern Ireland’s partnership with India will play an important role in the country’s economic growth pattern. In his welcoming speech, Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, India, announced that the Indian government will push for more economic reforms in the months ahead, including the easing of limits on foreign direct investment in various sectors. Gregory Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, United Kingdom, stressed that the United Kingdom wants to engage India productively in the years to come. ‘The strategic partnership with the United Kingdom is of great importance to India and one in which both our governments are continuing to invest,’ Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, India, told participants.
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| Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group | Gregory Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, United Kingdom |
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| Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India | Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy |
Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India, conveyed that India needs more and better reforms to boost the economy, which has been hobbled by inflation as well as by fiscal and current account deficits. ‘Structural reforms to bolster resilience to shocks are necessary to increase India’s competitiveness,’ commented S. D. Shibulal, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys, India.
Subodh Bhargava, Chairman, Tata Communications and Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group were awarded as ‘Indian Business Leaders of the Year’.
The co-chairs were:
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Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India |
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Timothy Beardson, Chairman, Albert Place Holdings, Hong Kong SAR |
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Sidharth Kumar Birla, Chairman, Xpro India, India |
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Ashish Chauhan, Chief Executive Officer, Bombay Stock Exchange, India |
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John Cook, Chairman, Rock Lake Associates, Switzerland |
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Ian Coulter, Chairman, CBI Northern Irleland, United Kingdom |
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Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India |
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Naina Kidwai, President, FICCI, India |
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Sunil Kant Munjal, Jt Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, India |
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Lord Diljit Singh Rana, President, Andras House, United Kingdom |
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Niraj Sharan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aura, USA |
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S. D. Shibulal, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys, India |
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D. Shivakumar, President, AIMA; Senior Vice President, Nokia, Finland |
With the Global India Business Meeting, Horasis engages business and government to evolve a roadmap for leveraging entrepreneurship for inclusive growth and development. The location of the meeting rotates annually, and was held so far in Munich (2009), Madrid (2010), Naples (2011), Antwerp (2012) and Belfast (2013).
Horasis as an independent international organization is committed to enacting visions for a sustainable future through the active participation of global business leaders in series of annual meetings. In addition to the Global India Business Meeting, Horasis holds meetings on China, Russia and the Arab world.
We will provide an investment climate that encourages sustainable foreign capital flows
Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, India
The Global India Business Meeting was the largest Indian business delegation ever hosted in Belgium
Kris Peeters, Minister-President of Flanders, Belgium
The United States and India are committed to working together to stimulate a global economic revival and to strengthen global economic and financial institutions
Geoff Pyatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, USA
We need to provide a model for sustainable growth, for openness and for shared values to the world at large
Sham L. Bathija, Senior Adviser for Economic Affairs to the President of Afghanistan
The gradual rise in incomes and opportunities for millions of Indians is a welcome source of optimism
Sunil Kant Munjal, Jt Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, India
India's new development experience can be labelled the ‘innovation-based economic development model
Ajay G. Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Healthcare, India
Inconsistent regulations and corruption are among the top barriers to growth
Sanjiv Ahuja, Chairman, LightSquared, USA