Elcano Royal Institute held the 'India-Spain Relations and Global Challenges' conference in Madrid, with the presence of the Indian Ambassador, Venkatesh Varma.
The Spain India Council Foundation also attended the event, which offered an opportunity to review political and economic bilateral relations between Spain and India.
The Ambassador highlighted the “excellent relations” between the two countries and the very positive balance in the political area. India sees Spain as a key partner to foster relations with the European Union, Europe as a whole and throughout the Mediterranean.
In the economic sphere, Mr Varma discussed a number of Spanish companies with successful operations in India, such as SICF's patron Acciona, Gestamp and Gamesa. He also highlighted the ability of Spanish companies to position themselves in the Indian infrastructure, smart cities, defence, renewable energy, food and tourism sectors, among others. The Ambassador stated that 92% of the Indian economy is open to foreign investment, and that even in the remaining 8% (areas such as Defence and nuclear security) Spanish companies can find business opportunities.
Venkatesh Varma also pointed out the important role to be played by Spain, as one of the main EU members, in closing a trade agreement with India, which is now progressing with renewed momentum and “will take relations between India and the UE to a whole new level”.
To sum up, the Ambassador described India as one of the most reliable international partners for Spain to maintain its economic growth abroad. That, he stated, was one of the messages conveyed by the country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy and King Philip VI during his visit in May, which he described as “very productive”.
