“Cities are centres of growth, innovation”: Amitabh Kant highlights sustainability during Raisina dialogue in Delhi

The former CEO of NITI Aayog and G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant highlighted the importance of building sustainable cities to urbanise the country, highlighting such projects as being centres of “growth and and innovation,” while speaking at the Raisina dialogue being held in New Delhi on Wednesday.

“It’s important to realise that cities are centres of growth, the centres of innovation. The centres of great prosperity, therefore if India is going to see 500 million people getting into the process of urbanisation in the next 5 decades, that means the challenge for India is to create two Americas in the next 5 decades. India will have to create a new Chicago every 5 years,” Kant said during a panel discussion on “Destiny or Destination: Culture, Connectivity and Tourism”

“You have to revitalise existing cities just to give you a perspective, the GDP of Mumbai today is more than the GDP of 18 Indian states, and the GDP of one city in UP, that’s Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida, and Greater Noida is 12 times more than the second biggest city of UP, that’s Kanpur. 12 times more. That’s the kind of growth, that’s the kind of GDP, that’s the kind of innovation, that’s the kind of job creation which new cities will create,” Kant added.

Mohamed Nasheed, former president of Maldives and currently secretary general of Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20 highlighted how countries only prosper if they focus on sustainability.

“I think firstly what we should all understand and believe is, it’s not the little Maldives that is being impacted by climate change, (it is) everyone. What happens to the Maldives happens twice in size in bigger countries. So every country is vulnerable to climate change. Looking after nature must be developed countries, that is the idea of prosperity,” Nasheed said during the discussion.

James Lawless, Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education highlighted how despite a potential trade war from the United States, the European Union still has good trade relations with India, which helps the EU in not missing out on certain products, specifically various wines and spirits being imported.

“So there is a possibly a trade war, starting across the Atlantic, maybe across the Pacific, maybe a few places, and American bourbon is in the sights of the EU, but as a member of the EU with 450 million people in a free market, I don’t need to drink American bourbon because I can drink French wine, German beer, Swedish vodka, and my favourite Indian gin. We have lots of lots of choice. EU has a trade agreement with 70 countries and there are no tariffs on those agreements actually, which is even better,” Lawless said.

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for Foreign Affairs highlighted the deep cultural ties between India and UAE, which helps with trade and also people-to-people connect, witnessed by the Indian population being one of the largest in UAE.

Al Kaabi said, “Talking about the UAE’s ties or relationship with India it goes back hundreds of years. I mean, the trade and, and how it also influenced our first currency. Before the UAE Dirhams, we used the rupee, you guys flavoured our food with the spices. I can’t imagine dish without the yummy spices. Now of course it’s the largest community in the UAE which we cherish. UAE is also a tax haven, and we are offering the talent visa or the golden visa, to encourage young talents to nourish and be part of its prosperity.”