Diplomats Appreciate State’s Focused Outreach and Explore Investment, Trade and Sectoral Partnerships
Chandigarh/New Delhi, 27 November 2025:
As part of its international outreach leading up to the 6th Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit (PPIS) 2026, the Government of Punjab today organised two constructive and forward-looking diplomatic roundtables in New Delhi with Ambassadors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.
The engagements were chaired by Hon’ble Minister for Industries & Commerce, Investment Promotion, Power & NRI Affairs, Mr. Sanjeev Arora, and witnessed the participation of Ambassadors, senior diplomatic representatives, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official, and senior officers of the Government of Punjab. Both interactions began with welcome remarks by Mr. K.K. Yadav, IAS, Administrative Secretary, Department of Investment Promotion, followed by an “Advantage Punjab” AV presentation showcasing the State’s strong industrial ecosystem, investment-ready infrastructure, policy reforms and emerging opportunities across agriculture, agri-tech, food processing, IT, healthcare and manufacturing.
The GCC Roundtable was attended by Ambassadors from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, reflecting the collective readiness of the GCC bloc to enhance economic ties with Punjab. The GCC envoys appreciated the clarity of Punjab’s presentation and observed that the GCC region could serve as a major export gateway for Punjab and India, given its world-class ports, robust logistics systems and extensive global connectivity with Africa, Europe and USA. They noted strong complementarities between Punjab’s manufacturing strengths, skilled workforce and entrepreneurial base, and the GCC’s economic diversification priorities.
The CIS Roundtable saw active participation from the Ambassadors of Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia and Belarus, who expressed strong interest in strengthening long-term partnerships with Punjab. Ambassador of Kazakhstan, highlighted education, tourism and culture, and trade and exports as three key pillars of collaboration, noting Punjab’s strong academic institutions, modern agricultural practices and vibrant tourism potential.
Ambassador of the Russian Federation, underscored significant scope for expanding agricultural trade from Punjab, especially in rice and tomato products, and highlighted opportunities for cooperation in railways, petrochemicals, fintech, artificial intelligence, aerospace, banking and financial services. He also welcomed Punjab’s interest in joining the upcoming Russia–India National-Level Collaboration Forum.
Ambassador of Armenia, commended Punjab for its proactive outreach to CIS nations and expressed interest in partnerships in agri-tech, dairy, IT services and renewable energy, while also emphasising the importance of people-to-people links, annual cultural festivals and university-level collaboration in tourism management and skill development.
Ambassador of Belarus, congratulated the Government of Punjab for initiating direct engagement with the CIS region and stressed Belarus’ expertise in agricultural education and agri-machinery manufacturing. He invited Punjab’s industry and government to participate in Belarus’ Annual Agricultural Exhibition scheduled for June 2026, offering a platform for B2B meetings and technology partnerships.
Addressing both roundtables, Minister Sanjeev Arora highlighted Punjab’s progressive reforms, including the Right to Business Act and the enhanced FastTrack Punjab single-window system, now India’s most advanced digital investor facilitation platform. He encouraged GCC and CIS member countries to explore Punjab as a preferred destination for manufacturing and services and to anchor sector-specific partnerships through Invest Punjab.
During the interaction, Minister Sanjeev Arora formally invited the Ambassadors and business delegations from GCC and CIS nations to participate in PPIS 2026 and explore investment opportunities in agriculture, agri-tech, Dairy, IT services, education, tourism, medical and healthcare ecosystems and infrastructure.
He also invited them to visit Punjab, including places of national and cultural importance and reaffirmed the State’s commitment to offering seamless facilitation, time-bound clearances and a globally competitive business environment.
A senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also participated and appreciated Punjab’s targeted, region-specific engagement strategy, observing that such focused outreach, built on shared strengths and complementarities, meaningfully contributes to India’s wider economic diplomacy and global trade expansion.
The Ambassadors from both GCC and CIS regions commended Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann for adopting a structured and region-focused international outreach model for the first time and expressed readiness to facilitate business delegations, support sectoral partnerships and participate in regular trade and cultural exchanges with Punjab.
The roundtables concluded on a positive note, with both sides agreeing to maintain close coordination and accelerate preparations for enhanced GCC and CIS participation in the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit in March 2026.
