On July 6, coinciding with the 5th Board Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Spain-India Council Foundation at the Garrigues Foundation headquarters in Madrid, the FCEI and Casa Asia signed a collaboration agreement to formalize the Foundation's participation in the 5th Annual Spain-India Forum, which will be held in October, 2010 in the city of Madrid. The program for this Forum session has been set by the Spain-India Council Foundation and Casa Asia.
The Spain-India Forum is an multi-sector and interdisciplinary forum attended by representatives of civil society from both countries and is the result of the combined efforts of Casa Asia, Casa de la India and the Indian Council of World Affairs, which enjoys the support and collaboration of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Embassy in India and the Indian Embassy in Spain. This 5th Forum will also receive the support of the Spain-India Council Foundation and Madrid City Government.
Launched in 2005, the Spain-India Forum has become an established platform for negotiations and cooperation between the two countries. With the goal of establishing specific proposals designed to develop a shared plan of action, each year the Tribune brings together diplomats, businessmen, economists, academics, journalists, arts administrators, and other society leaders to hold discussions, exchange experience and plan joint business ventures in various spheres of the bilateral relationship.
After the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 sessions, held in Barcelona, New Delhi, Valladolid and New Delhi, respectively, where ultimately some 40 experts acted as representatives for over 30 public and private institutions from both countries, the 2010 session, to be held in Madrid for the first time, will seek to repeat the success of previous years. To this end, the meetings will provide civil society from both countries with different forums for discussing varied aspects of the countries' bilateral relations in the economic, education, political and cultural spheres.
The Forum acts as a platform for Spain and India to merge their agendas, with a pragmatic focus that is orientated towards the future.
