Present and future challenges in relations between Spain and India
The Leaders met at Caixa Forum with a group of Spanish think tanks and renowned institutions to discuss bilateral relations
The breakfast organised by Caixa Forum was the backdrop to a fruitful, enriching exchange of opinions, ideas and expectations regarding relations between India and Spain. The most commonly held perception among the attendees is that the countries should continue to enhance relations and that there are attractive opportunities for exchange and collaboration in various areas. María Aparici, Deputy Director General of Trade Policy with Europe, Asia and Oceania, said the figures invite optimism. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Spanish companies present in India, from 60 in 2007 to over 250 today.
Ramón Moreno, Director of Casa Asia, said a major priority was the improvement of air links, which would really help to bring the two countries closer together both in terms of tourism and of business. Guillermo Rodríguez, Director of Casa de la India, said that in order to strengthen Spanish-Indian relations, there needs to be investment in education and mutual knowledge, and training of experts through specific Master’s degrees and courses (on India, and Spain and Latin America), as there is a serious lack in this area. Kiron Ravindran, a professor at IE Business School, highlighted the talent of Indian students, but said it was a shame that Spain was not among their preferred training locations and added that this is due to a lack of knowledge of our substantial educational offering.
Greater cooperation between the think tanks in the two countries would also be positive, according to Rubén Campos, Director of Club de Madrid, as in our increasingly global world the research they undertake is crucial when it comes to identifying common issues and joint strategies. The Indian Ambassador to Spain, Vikram Misri, closed the event. The diplomat emphasised the need to increase coordination between India and Spain to harness all the potential highlighted during the discussion, adding that a good time to do so would be the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.
