<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gujarat staked its claim as India&rsquo;s gateway to world trade at the second edition of the CII Gujarat Export Conclave, which closed on Friday. The two-day dialogue involved international diplomats, senior officials, business leaders and more than 150 experts from exports, logistics and MSMEs.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Themed &ldquo;Our Gateway to Global Success&rdquo;, the conclave drew over 100 delegates and centred on strategies to empower micro, small and medium enterprises with the tools to expand internationally.&nbsp;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sessions addressed credit security, compliance, skill development, innovation and maritime infrastructure as building blocks of export growth.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sunil Dave, Convenor of the CII Gujarat Panel on International Trade and Managing Director of BC Instruments India Pvt Ltd, hailed India&rsquo;s export performance. &ldquo;India&rsquo;s total exports reached a historic high of $824.9 billion in FY25, marking 6.01% growth, with the services sector achieving $387.5 billion &ndash; a robust 13.6% increase,&rdquo; he said.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Achal Bakeri, Vice-Chairman of the CII Gujarat State Council, said the state should use its global diaspora and cultural heritage as soft power. He urged a transition from &ldquo;Ease of Doing Business&rdquo; to what he called &ldquo;Ease of Exporting 2.0&rdquo; through deeper reforms.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maritime strength was underlined by Nilabhra Dasgupta, Deputy Chairman of the Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla. &ldquo;Gujarat&rsquo;s ports handle over 40% of India&rsquo;s cargo traffic, making them the backbone of our export ecosystem. By leveraging advanced port infrastructure and seamless connectivity, we can transform Gujarat into India&rsquo;s premier export gateway,&rdquo; he said.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">A panel moderated by Jalay Pandya brought together Aenna Jagga of Adani Ports &amp; SEZ, Subir Das of ECGC, Deval Shah of Senores Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sanjay Notani of Economic Laws Practice, Kartik Pancholi of FFFAI, and Rajeev Sharma of EDII.&nbsp;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The experts advised on credit cover, legal frameworks and workforce readiness to help MSMEs compete globally.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Global Partners&rsquo; Forum featured diplomats, including Yann Sinclair from the Australian Consulate, Eva Verstraelen of Flanders, Belgium, and Stephen Hickling and Nandita Rajput of the British Deputy High Commission, who discussed cooperation in innovation, technology transfer and sustainable trade.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dave added, &ldquo;Today, we have not just discussed the roadmap; we have collectively started building it. We are not just opening gateways to global success, we are building bridges to a brighter, more connected world."</span></div>

CII forum explores sustainability, innovation and global partnerships in trade

Guj Conclave Pushes Global Export Gateway Vision

CII forum explores sustainability, innovation and global partnerships in trade

September 13, 2025 | 18:39 IST