The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, will visit India from October 24-27 to review and carry forward the bilateral relations between the two nations. Accompanying him will be Defence Minister Pedro Morenés, Foreign Minister José García-Margallo y Marfil and the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria López.
The Spanish delegation will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, and then proceed to Mumbai.
The two leaders are expected to sign four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements. These include bilateral agreements in defence cooperation, MoUs in railways, amendments to the existing double-taxation agreement and co-production in cinema.
“There is tremendous potential for cooperation in infrastructure projects, in renewable energy, defence sector, hence, the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, infrastructure & industry, energy and tourism are among those coming with the King,” stated Ambassador Gustavo de Aristegui, the Spanish Ambassador to India.
The India-Spain bilateral trade in 2011 was around $5 billion – a growth of almost 18% over the bilateral trade in 2010. Spanish investment in India is over $1.3 billion.
Several Indian companies like TELCO, TELCON, TCS, Suzlon, and Infosys already have their presence in Spain, and mutually beneficial opportunities for investments by Spanish companies in India exist in sectors such as infrastructure, transport and energy, amongst others.