After San Francisco tech meets, Gujarat CM heads to Washington DC
San Francisco, Aug 19 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, on Wednesday concluded the San Francisco leg of his US visit and departed for Washington, D.C., where the state delegation is set to continue its outreach to investors, technology companies and other industry leaders ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027.
Before leaving San Francisco, Patel and members of the Gujarat delegation visited the Consulate General of India, where Consul General Dr K. Srikar Reddy received them.
The visit marked the conclusion of the delegation’s engagements in the San Francisco Bay Area, which included meetings with the Gujarati diaspora as well as leaders from the technology and investment sectors.
Patel began his US visit in San Francisco on August 17, meeting members of the Gujarati community and highlighting Gujarat’s development and its ambitions in emerging sectors.
The state government has said the overseas outreach is aimed at attracting investment and strengthening international partnerships ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, scheduled for January 2027.
On the second day of the visit, Patel and the delegation held round-table discussions and one-to-one meetings with more than 100 leaders from the semiconductor and technology sectors, as well as representatives from Artificial Intelligence, DeepTech, EdTech, HealthTech and gaming sectors.
The discussions focussed on opportunities for investment, research, innovation, skilling and business collaboration.
Patel urged global companies to look at Gujarat not simply as an investment destination but as a long-term strategic partner for technology development, innovation and supply-chain expansion.
He also invited companies and industry leaders to participate in Vibrant Gujarat 2027 and explore business-to-business and business-to-government opportunities at the summit.
The Chief Minister highlighted the scope for combining Silicon Valley’s technology capabilities with Gujarat’s industrial base.
He said the state was working towards providing technology companies with an ecosystem covering research and development, innovation, manufacturing and global expansion.
“The success of a next-generation technology hub will depend not only on innovation but also on the ability to provide all facilities such as land, electricity, connectivity, capital, talent and policy stability together. Gujarat is ready to provide all of this and facilitate technology-led investment,” Patel said.
The delegation’s meetings also covered generative AI, Robotics, Large Language Models, education technology, healthcare technology and gaming, including potential applications of these technologies in Gujarat.
Discussions on gaming also examined opportunities arising from the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in the state and the development of a supporting ecosystem through policy, innovation and industry participation.
The San Francisco engagements followed the Gujarat government’s broader effort to position the state as a major destination for semiconductors and advanced technologies.
Gujarat has been seeking to build an ecosystem around semiconductor manufacturing and related industries, while also promoting its infrastructure, policy framework and industrial base to international investors.
The delegation is scheduled to continue its US engagements in Washington, D.C., followed by planned meetings in New York before travelling to Toronto, Canada.
The official itinerary includes round-table conferences and one-to-one meetings with industrial investors, emerging technology leaders and members of the Gujarati community.
Chief Secretary M.K. Das, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries and Mines Department) Mamta Verma and other senior state officials are accompanying Patel on the overseas visit.
Das and Verma also addressed the San Francisco meetings, outlining Gujarat’s development journey, the successive editions of the Vibrant Gujarat summit and preparations for the 2027 edition.
The Washington leg will therefore shift the delegation’s focus from Silicon Valley’s technology and investment ecosystem to the US capital, as the state continues its international outreach in the run-up to the next Vibrant Gujarat summit.
–IANS
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