Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel travelled by train from Washington DC to New York on Wednesday, August 19, during his visit to the United States for the 11th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) roadshow.
Expansion Plans for MSMEs Discussed
During his recent visit, Bhupendra Patel met with an executive vice-president from a leading American multinational retail corporation. They explored a strategy aimed at enhancing global market opportunities for the state’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small artisans. A proposal to detail this plan is expected to be presented at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027.
The discussion took place during Chief Minister Patel’s one-to-one meeting with Dan Bryant, Walmart’s executive vice-president for Global Public Policy and Government Affairs, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, as part of his week-long visit to the US and Canada. Patel also proposed joint workshops involving the multinational retail corporation and relevant state government departments to identify the sectoral potential of MSMEs and determine areas where they could be better positioned for global trade. The discussions centred on collaboration between the corporation and the state government to identify suitable global opportunities and establish a practical road map for taking Gujarat-based enterprises and artisans to international markets. Chief Secretary M.K. Das, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance Department) T. Natarajan, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries Department) Mamta Verma and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Sanjeev Kumar, were also present at the meeting.
Bryant told Patel that more than 1.15 lakh MSMEs have been trained since 2019 under the corporation’s Vriddhi programme. The company has set a target of training 1.70 lakh MSMEs by 2028. The summit, scheduled for 2027, is the state’s flagship global investment event and is being used by the government to deepen engagement with international businesses and investors.
