The Spain-India Council Foundation (SICF) organized the III Spain-India Forum on November 22 in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF). This Forum serves as a crucial tool for promoting bilateral relations between Spain and India and is endorsed by the Spanish State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi, and the Instituto Cervantes.
The 2023 edition of the Forum held special significance as it marked the first time it was held in India. Previous Forums took place in Madrid in 2014 and 2017, focusing on urban development and infrastructure in the first edition and renewable energy development in the second.
The goal of the III Spain-India Forum was to explore assets and opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Spain and India as global partners in four key sectors, each addressed in the four sessions:
Four different Spanish delegations joined the Spain-India Forum in New Delhi. These delegations included the Spain-India Council Foundation's delegation, with members of its Board of Trustees; the Spanish language delegation, coordinated by the Directorate-General for Spanish Language in the World; the Universities delegation, coordinated by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE), and the think tanks delegation, coordinated by the Spain-India Observatory. Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, President of the Spain-India Council Foundation and Executive Vice-President of Acciona, led these delegations.
The Forum saw significant participation from experts and authorities from India, including Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India; Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, and Professor Harsh V. Pant, Vice President for Studies and Foreign Policy at ORF.
On the sidelines of the III Spain-India Forum, significant events took place for the Spain-India Council Foundation. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the SICF and the Indian think tank ORF, the co-organizer of the Forum, officially solidifying their ongoing collaboration. The Council Foundation also celebrated the IV Spain-India Award, presented to the editor and author Agustín Pániker and Hispanist Vibha Maurya. Finally, the Spain-India Observatory and ORF conducted a closed-door meeting between Indian and Spanish analysts at the latter’s headquarters.
List of attendees in the Spanish delegation:
Delegation of the Spain-India Council Foundation
•
Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, President of the Spain-India Council Foundation
•
Javier Salido, Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Pacific,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain
• Javier Parrondo. Director General,
Casa Asia
• Vicente Mas. Head of Area of the Sub-Directorate General for Multilateral Economic Relations and Air, Maritime, and Land Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain
•
Paloma Castro. Vice-chancellor for Internationalisation of the
University of Valladolid and Coordinator of the Working Group for Language Policy at CRUE
•
Micaela Picazo. Deputy Director of Internationalization, Cámara de Comercio de España
•
José Eugenio Salarich. Director of International Relations, Acciona
•
Jorge Tamarit. Head of C295 India Program,
Airbus Defence and Space
Spanish Language Delegation
• Carmen Noguero. Secretary General, Instituto Cervantes
• Guillermo Escribano. Director General of Spanish Language in the World, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain
• Luis Marina. Director of International Relations, Instituto Cervantes
• Javier Torres. Head of International and Institutional Relations at the Unit for International Education of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain
Delegation of Universities
• Fátima Terol. Deputy Head of Internationalisation of Higher Education at the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE)
• Jesús Soto. Academic Director of Mobility, University of Seville
• Albert Cebrian. Director of International Relations,CEDEU
• Vicente Ballesteros. Regional Advisor for India, University of Granada
• Natalia del Barrio. Deputy Vice Rector for Internationalization, San Pablo-CEU University
• Manuel José Gazapo. Director of Institutional Relations, UNIVERSAE
• Miguel Sieteiglesias. Director of Operations, UNIVERSAE
• Isabel Torra. Corporate Strategic Business Development Manager, La Salle URL
Delegation of Analysts and Representatives of Think Tanks
• Emilio de Miguel. Director of Casa Asia Madrid, and Ambassador-at-Large for the Indo-Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain
• Cristóbal Alvear. Director, Spain-India Observatory
• Amaia Sánchez. (non-resident) for South Asia, EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
• José María Pardo de Santayana y Olea. Research Coordinator, Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies
• Javier Gil. Professor and Expert on the Indo-Pacific, Comillas Pontifical University
• Ana Ballesteros. Senior Research Associate, CIDOB
• Eva Borreguero. Professor and Expert on South Asia Studies, Complutense University of Madrid
• Mario López Areu. , IR, Politics, and Economics Coordinator, Spanish Association for Interdisciplinary India Studies (AEEII)
• Mikel Herrera. Analyst, Spain-India Observatory
• Patrizia Cogo. Project Manager and Research Assistant, Real Instituto Elcano
Press Impact:
Statements by Sanjay Verma
Interview with Juan Ignacio Entrecanales
Statement by Ambassador José María Ridao
Interview with José María Pardo de Santayana y Olea, Research Coordinator, Spanish Institute for Strategic Studiess
Interview with José Porto, Managing Director of Navantia India
Spain-India Relations
Summary of the Spain-India Forum
Publication at Comillas University
Publication at Universidad de Granada
