The Hindu Business Line : Spain keen on tie-ups in education, tech sectors

FOR STRONGER TIES: The President of Spain, Mr Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero; with the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Kapil Sibal (second from left); Mr Anil K. Agarwal, President Assocham (left); Mr S.K. Poddar, President, FICCI; and Mr Arun Bharat Ram, Past President CII (extreme right); during a meeting with Indian businessmen in the Capital on Monday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , July 3

"There is going to be an explosion of Spanish interest in India in the next few years as India and Spain come together to face the global challenges," said the President of Spain, Mr Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, at a press briefing here organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (Assocham).

He said that the visit of the trade delegation to India had come at a very decisive moment because both countries had made a turn around in their economies and while Spain had established itself as the eighth largest economy in the world, India had become a reference point for many sectors such as information technology in Asia.

Set up beneficial ventures

Mr Zapatero invited both Indian and Spanish companies to collaborate and set up mutually beneficial joint ventures. He said that both countries had a lot to learn from each other. For instance, Spain could learn a lot in IT and biotechnology from India, whereas India could take advantage of Spain's expertise in infrastructure development. He added that India had the capacity for an investment of up to € 100 billion in its infrastructure sector.

The President also expressed interest in India's expertise in the education and technology sectors, which had become the main drivers of India's growth rate, and said that bilateral agreements between the two countries would be signed in these fields. He further announced that an institute for teaching Cervantes to promote Spanish would be set up in India and a Spanish bank had already opened its branch in India, which clearly showed the growing interest of Spain in India.

Mr Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science and Technology, also urged Spain to invest in Indian airports and railways, which needed investments of $33 billion and $35 billion, respectively.

Mr Sibal also pointed out that India could share with Spain its eco-friendly technology in fields like leather that was exclusive to India. "Italy is already approaching us for this technology and I hope that Spain will also make use of it," he said.