Prime Minister, Narendra Modi with then Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel, and other dignitaries at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2015. (File/PTI Photo)For the first time since 2013, business delegations from Pakistan will be attending the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit scheduled to be held this time from January 18-20, 2019, the organisers confirmed. According to records reviewed by The Indian Express, at least seven delegations from different regions of Pakistan are expected to take part, making it the largest contingent ever from the country at the summit.
They are among the 52 delegations representing commerce and trade bodies from various countries who have confirmed their participation for the Global Conclave of International Chambers, which is one of the events at the summit.
In 2013, a 22-member delegation from Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry had arrived for the summit and attended a pre-event buyer-seller meet on January 9-10. However, with bilateral tensions rising following the killing of two Indian soldiers in a ceasefire violation at the Mendhar sector of J&K's Poonch on January 8, the delegation left without attending the main summit on January 12-13.
At the time, the state government cited visa clearances as a reason for the early departure and said that most members had visas only for Ahmedabad while the main event was held in Gandhinagar. Since then, two summits have gone by without any representation from…
