The President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezwill begin this Monday his first official visit to India invited by the prime minister, Narendra Modiwith the desire to give a boost the relationship between the two countries and place it at the appropriate level given the relevance that the Asian country has on the international scene, especially on the economic and commercial level.
In Moncloa they maintain that since India is already the fifth world economy There is a lot of room to improve both the trade balance and the stock of investments, hence why a group of businessmen will accompany the president, some of whom will even meet Modi, and a business forum in Bombay, among others.
On this occasion Sánchez will travel accompanied by his wife, Begoña Gómezsince she has been invited by the Indian Prime Minister and will have some events on her own agenda, government sources have indicated, who have assured that in Moncloa there is no fear that her presence, given that she is being investigated by the justice system, could overshadow somehow visit her.
The institutional part of the trip will take place in Vadodara and not in New Delhi. Modi wanted to receive Sánchez in this city of Gujarat, his native state and where he began his political life. It will be here where the bilateral meeting and where the Indian Prime Minister will offer a lunch to which a small group of businessmen has been invited, among whom will be the president of Navantia.
Promote the Navantia offer
The public company opts for a contract for the construction of six submarines and competes with the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The proposal, in collaboration with the Indian company Larsen and Toubro, is based on the S80 series that is being built in Cartagena and provides for technology transfer, as Navantia has already done in markets such as Australia or Turkey.
Sánchez will try to make Modi see both the Government’s unwavering support for Navantia’s offer and that this is the one that best responds from a technical point of view to the needs of the Indian Navy, in addition to providing for the construction in a shipyard in the Asian country, the sources have specified.
Before the meeting, Sánchez and Modi will inaugurate, in the company of the president of Airbus Defense and Space, Michael Schoellhorn, the new plant of this company in which 40 of the 56 aircraft will be built C295 acquired by the Indian Air Force, a model that is mainly manufactured in Spain.
Promoted the business relationship
The second day of the visit will take place in Bombay, one of the main economic and technological centers of the country. Here, the president of the Government will inaugurate a business forum in which a large participation of businessmen is expected.
In Moncloa they consider that since India is already the fifth economic power and is expected to become the third by 2030, there is room for improvement in terms of trade exchange, clearly unfavorable for Spain at present, and for an increase in Indian investments, since currently The country ranks 44th among investors in Spain.
In addition, they maintain that the opening that the most populated country in the world, with 1.4 billion inhabitants, is experiencing, also provides opportunities for Spanish companies in sectors in which they are leaders. Currently there are 230 Spanish companies present in India.
Here, Sánchez will also have the opportunity to inaugurate the IV Spain India Forum organized by the Spain-India Council Foundation, a private non-profit entity that seeks promote mutual knowledge of the two countries created in 2009, and will visit a technology center
Visit to Bollywood
On the other hand, Sánchez plans to visit the studios of bollywood. Government sources highlight that the Indian film industry is more powerful even than hollywood and they justify this visit by the will of the Government of attract investments of this sector to Spain so that more Indian series and films can be shot and produced here.
From the political point of view, a joint declaration will emerge from the meeting with Modi that will serve as roadmap for the coming years and which seeks to relaunch the bilateral relationship and structure dialogue in all areas.
In Moncloa they highlight that the last official visit of a President of the Government to India was made José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 18 years ago while Modi visited Spain seven years ago and they influence the fact that India is not only the largest democracy in the world and the most populous country, but that it is assuming a more marked role in the so-called Global South, as shown by its membership in the BRICS and its differentiated foreign policy.
Regarding the agenda of the president’s wife, Moncloa did not want to go into more details, beyond indicating that she will have an event organized by the Indian Government. As reported a few days ago The Diplomatwhich announced the presence of Begoña Gómez, this will visit in Bombay the Reliance Foundation, chaired by Nita Ambani, the wife of businessman Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in india and one of the richest in the world.
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