Indianapolis welcomed 800 international business and government leaders Thursday, May 19, for a four-day economic summit.

14 panel discussions will address shared challenges across international borders, from labor and supply chain issues to food insecurity. The speakers include the C-E-O’s of Eli Lilly, Cummins, and Saab; former Google C-E-O Eric Schmidt; executives from Amazon, Intel and Microsoft; and a 500 flavor with Roger Penske and Michael Andretti.

Indiana Economic Development Corporation senior vice president Andrea Richter-Garry, who’s leading the summit, says the conference is a chance to strengthen Indiana’s existing partnerships overseas, and raise the state’s profile internationally. And she says Indiana’s agricultural and manufacturing history put the state at the center of discussions of how 21st-century technology is reshaping those industries.

The summit was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed by the pandemic. Richter-Garry says COVID has been a real-world illustration of how business challenges don’t stop at one country’s border.

After two days of discussions, the focus will shift to two days of networking and hospitality events, with the 500 as the backdrop, culminating with the race itself.

Representatives of 28 countries are attending.