With trade growing between the UAE and India, the government from the western state of Odisha has parked base in Dubai with the hope of securing Foreign Direct Investment in various sectors.

Leading a delegation of industrialists and bureaucrats from the state is the chef de mission himself, the state’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has been at the helm for 23 years and is the longest serving state honcho in India.
And the deals have already started materialising with the Lulu Group signing an MoUto invest in hypermarkets and a product sourcing centre worth 1,500 crores or $190 million.

Even before taking the stage to present the vision to a 150-plus audience of possible investors at the Oberoi Hotel, Mr Patnaik and the Odisha government officials had one to one business meetings, which delayed the start of the overall session. Although the delay was not much, the presenters apologised and adjusted their presentation to slot in the agenda and practice what they preached on the high level of professional standards displayed in Odisha.

Close on the heels of the CEPA agreement between the UAE and India governments, the situation is conducive for investors to come forward, said Sunjay Sudhir, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE.

Riding on the last two years of a high level of investments approved by Government of Odisha, amounting to over US$50 billion since 2021, the state highlighted progress made in sectors such as Mineral resources, Metals, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Textiles and Apparel, Food processing, Logistics and Clean Energy.

In a pre-recorded pitch, Mr Patnaik underlined Odisha’s advantage of being rich in mineral resources; the human resource advantage of investing and focusing on skilled labour; Odisha’s use of enabling technology in delivering efficient and effective investment facilitation and its progressive policy and governance.

“Odisha holds the lion’s share of India’s mineral reserves with 96 percent of the country’s chromite reserves, 92 percent nickel, 53 percent bauxite, 45 percent manganese, 35 percent iron-ore, and 23 percent coal reserves of India. This has made Odisha the largest producer of Steel, Stainless Steel, Ferro Alloys, Alumina, and Aluminium in India. Odisha also has 11 percent of India’s water resources. The state has a 480-km long coastline making it a natural choice for setting up ports, and for international trade,” Mr Patnaik said.

“We have made good investments in setting up technical and professional institutes at all skill levels – ITIs, Polytechnics, and engineering and management colleges. Eleven of India’s top 100 Industrial training institutes are in Odisha. With the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, the Government of Odisha has recently established the World Skill Centre in Bhubaneswar to prepare the Odia workforce for modern and new age Industry.”

Odisha is home to over 1200 start-ups, many of which are in the technology space, he added.

According to Mr Hemanta Sarma, principal secretary, Mr Patnaik “himself makes calls to at least 10 investors or businessmen every day”, such is the passion as the state has moved on from an agrarian economy to an industrial one over the past two decades.

Among the industrialists who spoke was Parth Jindal, the head of JSW Steel. After highlighting the business aspects for his company, Mr Jindal reminded all that it was not just business but the fact that the state has become the pride of India in the world of sport as well.

“As someone who are associated with Delhi Capitals in the IPL and the Bengaluru Football Club, I have been witness to how much encouragement Mr Patnaik has given to sport. A first medal in 41 years at the Olympic stage (in hockey) is a matter of pride for all and again the reason for it has been Odisha government’s support.”

I attended #OdishaInvestorsMeet held in Dubai where Hon’ble CM @Naveen_Odisha highlighted the State’s transformation into an industrial hub & investors shared their excellent experience. The meet was jointly organised by @InvestInOdisha @IndembAbuDhabi & @ficci_india. @CMO_Odisha pic.twitter.com/2wVSXEfHpg

— Subhrakant Panda (@subhrakantpanda) June 29, 2022

Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco, said it succinctly in his supporting address: “If you want things to be done on time, in budget, and smoothly, come to Odisha.”

The team Odisha also conducted one-on-one B2G meetings with major companies of the region such as LuLu Group, NBTC Group, Sharaf Group, Twenty Fourteen Holding and Tablez Group, ERAM Group, Sobha Group, Arab and India Spices LLC, Tabreed, etc. The State Government invited them to explore Odisha in their future expansions and apprised them of the huge Indian and sub-continent market. The government also assured all the companies of unmatched facilitation and support.

The Chief Minister extended the invitation to businesses in the MENA region to attend the 3rd Make In Odisha Investor Meet (Nov 30 – Dec 4, 2022) in the state capital of Bhubaneshwar and witness the opportunities the state offers.