The Hindu Business Line : Nestle may develop products based on ‘bhal’, isabgol

Likely projects Gujarat is likely to sign a MoU with the International Road Federation.Unctad has offered to assist in tourism promotion through its e-tourism initiative.

Our Bureau

Ahmedabad, July 6

Nestle, the global processed food giant with a turnover of $78 billion, has shown “keen interest” in developing products based on bhal, a Gujarati variety of wheat, and isabgol, the business delegation that accompanied the Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, on his recent visit to Switzerland, said here on Friday.

The delegation visited Switzerland for three days (July 1 to 3), as part of the State’s continuing efforts to sell ‘Brand Gujarat’ abroad, held 17 focused group and one-to-one meetings with Swiss industry leaders, investors, the UN agencies and World Economic Forum (WEF).

Briefing newspersons, the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Mr Pankaj Patel, and others said a Nestle delegation is likely to visit Gujarat shortly in this regard.

Unlike other varieties of wheat, which are generally carbohydrates-rich, the bhal variety, cultivated in the Bhal region of Gujarat, is protein-rich.

Projects in the offing

On Mr Modi’s suggestions inviting the company to bring in ready-to-eat products with high quantum of nutrition for children aged one to six years, Nestle has offered to carry out market research and initiate R&D efforts on it.

Another notable outcome of the visit was that Gujarat is likely to sign a MoU with the International Road Federation (IRF), which represents all the stakeholders in the road sector worldwide.

The IRF Chairman, Mr Jean Beauverd, would visit the State in October to cement the cooperation in public-private partnerships, road safety and sustainable development of rural roads worldwide, Mr Patel said.

Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), has offered to assist in the promotion of tourism in Gujarat through his organisation’s e-tourism initiative and capacity building for SMEs through another programme.

He also promised to extend cooperation in the area of industrial investment promotion and collaborate for the next Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit in January 2008.

Meanwhile, Prof Klaus Schwab, Chairman and Founder of WEF, has invited Mr Modi to showcase the State’s economic progress at the Conference being held at Dailin, China, in September, and at the congregation of global CEOs at WEF’s flagship annual event in Davos in January 2008.

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