Reflections on key takeaways from the 29th edition of the CII Partnership Summit

The 29^th Edition of the CII Partnership Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry was recently held on 2 and 3 December 2024 in New Delhi with the theme of ‘Partnerships for Progress’.

Participation and Engagement

The Summit was attended by over 400 International Delegates from 61 countries and saw the participation of 395 Domestic Delegates. The Summit also featured 30 Global Speakers, and was addressed by 11 Overseas Ministers from Algeria, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, Israel, Italy, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Senegal, and South Africa. Additionally, leaders from both India’s and the world’s business and regulatory landscape also participated in the CII Partnership Summit including leaders from NITI Aayog, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the World Bank. The Summit also featured 11 technical sessions and 7 sectoral tracks and facilitated over 500 B2B and B2G meetings.

Inaugural Session Highlights

The 29^th edition of the CII Partnership Summit was chaired by Mr. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India, who addressed the Inaugural Session of the CII Partnership Summit alongside the 11 visiting ministers as well as Mr. Sanjiv Puri, President, CII and Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Ltd and Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII. During his address, Mr. Piyush Goyal emphasised the India’s resilience and shared that the country offers speed and scale for companies and countries’ global operations. He also alluded to two acronyms SATELLITE and SPACE while describing India’s vision of global partnerships, which encompass areas including Supply Chains, Sustainability, and Synergy between countries.

Keynote Address by Dr. S. Jaishankar

In addition to Mr. Goyal, Dr S Jaishankar, Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs, Government of India also addressed the CII Partnership Summit during the session titled India and the World: Partnerships for Progress. In his speech, Dr. Jaishankar touched on increasing geopolitical and geoeconomic turbulence and insecurity across the globe and emphasised that policy makers will increasingly have to utilise national security filters when making economic policy decisions including decisions on foreign investment. He also emphasised that India must forge more reliable and trusted partnerships with nations, particularly those in India’s neighbourhood. Moreover, Dr. Jaishankar spoke on the importance for India to foster innovation, widen skillsets, and enhance capabilities particularly in the fields of semiconductors and electric mobility. Finally, Dr. Jaishankar emphasised the importance of developing and increasing manufacturing capacity in India, addressing knowledge gaps and availability of talent, and improving secure connectivity between India and its global partners.

Mr Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa addressed the session Development Through South-South Collaboration on Day 2 of the CII Partnership Summit. Mr. Kant touched upon redesigning and restructuring international financial institutions and debt structures to be more inclusive and friendly to nations in the Global South. He also shared that countries from the Global South will serve as a growth engine over the next three decades and that technology will act as a significant conduit in catalysing the global south’s growth.

Moreover, the 29^th edition of the CII Partnership Summit featured other plenary sessions that touched upon globally pertinent topics for both India and its partners. Some of these sessions included discussions on globally pertinent topics such as Collaborative Climate Solutions: Bridging Clean Technology and Finance, Creating Resilient Global Value Chains, and Harmonising Global and National ESG Frameworks.

The 29th edition of CII Partnership Summit has helped elevate India’s commercial relationships with the world and has provided a key gateway for Indian businesses to access global markets.