Business cooperation between Spain and India offers numerous opportunities in strategic areas, as emphasized by the institutional and business representatives who participated yesterday in the Spain-India Meeting, organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain and the Secretary of State for Trade in collaboration with ICEX Spain.
During their speeches, representatives from FICCI and CII highlighted the potential of business cooperation between both countries and the opportunities that greater collaboration in strategic areas offers. The ambassador, for his part, emphasized the opportunity to strengthen economic and trade relations between Spain and India in a context of profound transformation of the global economy.
The Indian delegation —led by its Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal— included the ambassador to Spain, Shri Jayant N. Khobragade. Among the businesspeople included were Anant Goenka, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI); and R. Mukundan, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
From the Spanish side, the Secretary of State for Industry, Jordi García Brustenga; Inmaculada Riera, General Director of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain; and the president of the International Relations Commission of CEOE, Marta Blanco, participated.
Piyush Goyal, during his speech, made a proposal to the businesspeople of both countries: “I have set a goal and I want the companies of both countries to lead this effort with very concrete and viable proposals. Can we imagine a 10x10x10 alliance between Spain and India? That multiplies our bilateral trade by ten in the next ten years, that multiplies the number of tourists in both directions by ten, and that multiplies investments between our countries during that same decade.”
Goyal added that Spain and India share the same vision of the world: “It is about an alliance that is truly called to define the success story that we envision in the collaboration between the EU and India.”
For his part, Jordi García Brustenga stated that “India is a strategic partner for Spain and one of the most dynamic and internationally projected economies.” Therefore, he expressed his interest in “taking advantage of the momentum of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and India to transform the growth of our exchanges into new investments under the concept ‘Well Made in Spain’: shared value chains, technology transfer, and employment with training.”
“Spain,” said the Secretary of State, “has leading companies in sectors such as railways, aerospace and defense, renewable energies, and advanced manufacturing, and can also be a natural bridge for India’s expansion into Latin America.”
Inmaculada Riera, General Director of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, stated that “India and Spain share a vision based on open trade, international cooperation, and investment as engines of growth” and advocated for “elevating our economic alliance to a new level.”
Riera emphasized that “the Chamber of Commerce of Spain maintains a firm commitment to strengthening economic relations between Spain and India and to supporting companies that wish to develop new opportunities in both markets.” Therefore, she considered that the Spain-India CEOs Forum “is a key tool to strengthen high-level business dialogue, promote joint projects, and encourage new investments between both countries.”
The president of the International Relations Commission of CEOE, Marta Blanco, highlighted in her speech that the visit of this Indian delegation “constitutes an opportunity to continue strengthening relations between Spain and India, within the framework of the Dual Year and at a particularly relevant moment after the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and India.”
Blanco emphasized the potential of Spain to establish itself as a gateway for Indian companies to the European Union, Latin America, and Africa, and highlighted the broad opportunities for collaboration between both countries in strategic areas such as digital infrastructures, green transition, aerospace industry, security and defense, and the automotive sector.
