Narendra Modi is India's most successful prime minister and the greatest global leader of current generation, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday as he flaunted his group Reliance Industries' Gujarati heritage and its over USD 150 billion (Rs 12 lakh crore) investment in last 10 years.
With Prime Minister Modi on the dais, Ambani termed the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit -- which was conceived when Modi was chief minister of the state two decades back -- as "the most prestigious investor summit in the world".
"Our beloved leader who has emerged as the greatest global leader of our times. And he is Shri Narendrabhai Modi, the most successful Prime Minister in India's history," said the head of India's most valuable company Reliance Industries Ltd.
He went on to state that when Modi speaks, the whole world not only listens but applauds.
"My friends abroad ask me: What is the meaning of the slogan that millions of Indians are chanting: Modi hai toh Mumkin Hai? I tell them: It means, India's prime minister makes the impossible possible with his vision, determination and execution! They agree, and they also say: 'Modi hai toh mumkin hai!" he said.
Flaunting his Gujarati roots, Ambani said, "I am a proud Gujarati" and "Reliance was, is, and will always remain a Gujarati company."
"When foreigners think of New India, they think of New Gujarat. How did this transformation happen? Because of one leader. Most respected Shri Narendrabhai Modiji," he said.
The coming generations, he said, will "indeed be thankful to Prime Minister Modi for being both a nationalist and an internationalist".
"You have laid a solid foundation for 'Vikasit Bharat' -- India as a fully developed nation in Amrit Kaal. No power on earth can stop India from becoming a USD 35 trillion economy by 2047 (from under USD 3 trillion now). And as I see Gujarat alone will become a USD 3-trillion economy," he said.
As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi used to say 'Bharat ke vikas ke liye Gujarat ka vikas (Gujarat's development for India's development), helping make the country's growth engine," he said. "Now as Prime Minister of India, your mission is -- duniya ke vikas ke liye Bharat ka vikas (India's development for the good of the world). You are working on the mantra of global good and make India the world's growth engine."
The story of Modi's journey from Gujarat to the global stage in just two decades is nothing short of a modern epic, he said. "The Modi era will take India to new summits of prosperity, progress and glory."
Video: Mukesh Ambani's praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Ambani said his oil-to-telecom conglomerate invested over USD 150 billion in creating world-class assets and capacities across India in the last 10 years. Of this, more than one-third has been invested in Gujarat alone.
"Today I would like to make five commitments to the people of Gujarat. First, Reliance will continue to play a leading role in Gujarat's growth story with significant investments in the next ten years," he said.
Specifically, Reliance will contribute to making Gujarat a global leader in green growth. "We will help Gujarat's target to meet half of its energy needs through renewable energy by the year 2030. For this, we have started building the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex over 5,000 acres in Jamnagar. This will generate a large number of green jobs and enable production of green products and materials and will make Gujarat a leading exporter of green products. And we are ready to commission this in the second half of 2024 itself," he said.
Secondly, telecom arm Reliance Jio completed the fastest roll-out of 5G infrastructure anywhere in the world. "Today Gujarat is fully 5G enabled."
The 5G-enabled AI revolution will make Gujarat's economy more productive, more efficient and more globally competitive, he said, adding besides generating millions of new employment opportunities, it will produce AI-enabled doctors, AI-enabled teachers and AI-enabled farming, which will revolutionise healthcare, education and agricultural productivity in Gujarat.
"Third, Reliance's Retail will further accelerate its mission to bring quality products to consumers and simultaneously empower lakhs of kisans and small merchants," he said.
Fourth, Reliance will make Gujarat a pioneer in new materials and the circular economy. "As a first step, Reliance is setting up India's first and world-class carbon fibre facility at Hazira," he said without giving financial and other details.
And fifth, to support India's bid for the 2036 Olympics, Reliance and its philanthropic arm Reliance Foundation will join forces with several other partners in Gujarat to improve education, sports and skills infrastructure that will nurture the champions of tomorrow in various Olympics sports.
On the summit, he said no other summit of this kind has continued for 20 long years. "This is a tribute to our Prime Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi's vision and consistency," he said, adding he has attended every single edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit in the last two decades.
