Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism of Spain, and explored new opportunities to strengthen India-Spain collaboration in trade, investment, manufacturing, innovation, tourism and other future-ready sectors that drive growth, competitiveness and job creation.
“We also exchanged views on the India-EU FTA and reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening industrial partnerships, building resilient supply chains and deepening economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of both nations,” Goyal said. He earlier said that India and Spain should look at increasing their bilateral trade and investments 10 times in the next 10 years.
Goyal said that advanced manufacturing, mobility, railways, sustainability, innovation, arts, science, and culture are some of the areas of greater collaboration between India and Spain. “Delighted to deliver the keynote address at the India-Spain Business Forum.
Underlined the need for encouraging the free flow of goods and services between India and Spain to achieve exponential growth in our trade and investment ties,” said Goyal. He suggested four ways to achieve this target invest deeper and wider into each other's future; leverage all opportunities opening up with the India-EU FTA; look at connecting tourism and talent; and further strengthen government-to-government relations.
The minister said that immense opportunities await India and the EU with the operationalisation of the India-EU FTA. “This is perhaps the only free trade agreement that Europe has finalised without any criticism from any of the member states. The 27 member states completely aligned in this partnership with India, as are businesses in India not a murmur of dissent or dissatisfaction back home in India,” Goyal told businesses and leaders in Madrid.
The EU and India collectively represent nearly 30 per cent of the global trade and global economy, with the potential to take it to much higher levels in terms of engagement in trade, business, investments, exchanges in culture, education, tourism, technology, space and defence.