Priyam Gandhi-Modi, Founder & Chairperson, Future Economic Cooperation Council. Photo: Future Economic Cooperation Council
India currently enjoys a place in the global economy where developed countries want to increasingly engage with it, while governments in smaller countries want India to anchor projects in those countries, Priyam Gandhi-Mody, the founder and chairperson of the Future Economic Cooperation Council (FECC) said.
The FECC is organising a three-day Global Economic Cooperation (GEC) summit in Mumbai on February 17-19, which will bring together delegations from both developed and developing countries. While Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar is confirmed to be speaking at the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to deliver a special address, although that is yet to be officially confirmed.
The FECC itself is backed by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of Maharashtra.
According to Ms. Gandhi-Mody, the ongoing global disruption is affecting every country, but also simultaneously places India at an “interesting intersection”.
“On the one side, we have the larger economies and blocs like the European Union, the US, Australia, and multiple other countries in the developed part of the world wanting to engage more and more with India,” she told The Hindu in an interview. “On the other side, the countries that are smaller, particularly in the global south, are looking at having India be the anchor of important projects in their countries, and do something jointly with India.”
The GEC was therefore conceived as a platform where decision-makers from each section of the global economy can come together in Mumbai and discuss either how to invest in India, or how the developed world can increase investments in the developing countries, with India anchoring these relationships.
“You will need to involve large business houses, capital markets, private equity, sovereign funds, and government officials from around the world,” Ms. Gandhi-Mody said, in response to a question on who would be attending the summit.
“So wherever there is joint interest, you can sort of give direction to the flow of that kind of money to fulfil certain joint commitments,” she added. “Which means that you need the attendance and participation and ongoing engagement with some of these people who can catalyse some of these flows.”
Further, she explained that, apart from business considerations, many geoeconomic issues will also be discussed during the summit.
“Groupings of countries that can align on smaller objectives, for instance, like the Pax Silica that the US has just launched, or the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC),” Ms. Gandhi-Mody said. “Or, with ASEAN you want to deepen engagement, with the Great Nicobar project anchoring some of that.”
“Deepening of relationships over these kinds of issues will happen over the next decade or so, and a platform like this [GEC] will help convert commitment to action,” she added.
(The reporter is at the GEC 2026 summit on the invitation of the Future Economic Cooperation Council.)
Published – February 16, 2026 08:59 pm IST
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/india-in-demand-by-both-developed-countries-and-global-south-economies-priyam-gandhi-mody/article70639376.ece
