In a major development, the Gujarat Government on Thursday called off the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) scheduled to be held between January 10-12, 2022 at Gandhinagar.
The decision came after Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the state, which has seen cases rising multifold over the past one week.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said in order to contain the spread of the Omicron outbreak in the State, and in the interest of the citizens, the government, for the time being, has decided to suspend the summit.
The State registered 3,350 new cases on Wednesday, a three-fold rise from 1,059 registered on January 1. The total active cases in the State has jumped to 10,994 as on Wednesday, up from 3,927 on January 1.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said the Summit had received an overwhelming response in terms of registration from the participants, partner countries and foreign delegate visitors.
According to the earlier plan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the three-day business congregation on January 10 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
The heads of state and heads of government from five nations were invited. This included Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Russia; Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of Mozambique; Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius; Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of Nepal, and Janez Jansa, Prime Minister of Slovenia.
A record 26 countries have partnered for the VGGS 2022, including Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, the UK, the UAE, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland among others.