DURBAN – HOT ON the heels of the Durban Tourism Indaba, Indian leaders and top businessmen from 50 countries started arriving in Durban yesterday ahead of the Gopio International Global Business Summit this weekend.
And with the announcement this week that Durban had won the bid to host the Tourism Indaba for the next five years, Gopio’s Africa co-ordinator Ishwar Ramlutchman said one of the key discussions during the summit would be investment in KZN tourism.
“We want investors to come from across the globe and the summit will look at ways to build our economy.
“While the delegates will be visiting Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and other attractions in the province, which will boost tourism spend over the next week, it is also an opportunity for delegates to explore investment possibilities, such as building new hotels,” said Ramlutchman.
Another area of focus for the summit will be skills development, with Ramlutchman confirming the partnership between the Indian government and Gopio International.
“If you look at food security, skills are needed in technology and biotechnology and the Indian government are major partners in offering programmes in this regard, while the summit will also look at agri-business and the development of small-scale farmers,” he said, adding that new technologies need to be investigated ahead of any crises.
“If you look at desalination plants, we have a crisis in terms of water and now for the first time they are forced to go this route. We need to start looking at new technologies and not only when there is a crisis,” he said.
US-based founder and chairman of Gopio, Dr Thomas Abraham, said this week: “The summit is very pertinent since the 30 million-strong global Indian diaspora is in a strategic position to contribute to developing countries, sharing technology and initiating trade, business opportunities and investments. Africa’s time has come.”
The summit will provide an opportunity for local businesses to access international markets, while topics being addressed will include economic opportunities as a whole for the African continent, as well as private-public partnerships to boost local growth and issues such as unemployment and the widening gap between the rich and poor.
The delegates will spend the weekend in uMhlanga for the two-day business summit at which King Goodwill Zwelithini is expected to deliver an address, as well as attend the gala dinner and awards banquet to take place tonight�.
After the summit, delegates will visit tourist attractions in the province before flying to Cape Town on Thursday where they will spend another three days.