The 12th Session of the India-Spain Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on April 13, 2023. Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary of India, and Xiana Mendez, Secretary of State for Trade of the Government of Spain discussed various issues of Economic Cooperation between the countries.
India and Spain, both the countries are aiming for development in the ongoing India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations during awaited Spanish presidency of the EU in the current year from July to December.
12th Session of India-Spain: Discussion Points
India and Spain both have been facing some issues related to exporters. Hence, the Indian and Spanish Governments decided on strengthening their collaboration with the help of various key sectors, like shipping, food processing, renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, defence, ports, and pharmaceuticals.
Xiana Mendez held this meeting with the Commerce Secretary of India to discuss the topics, explore the possible opportunities, and agree upon the terms for improving coordination between both countries.
They have also agreed on extending cooperation in various other sectors like automation, high-speed railways, civil aviation, and other segments as well.
The main objective of this meeting was to understand the hindrance faced by both nations and come up with a resolution through coordination and agreement.
250 Spanish companies are well-active in India with an investment of $3.7 billion. On the other hand, 400 Indian companies are present in Spain and are working in various sectors there like renewable energy, infrastructure and automobiles, IT, pharma, and other sectors.
Considering the good relationship between India and Spain, the Secretary of State for Trade of the Government of Spain emphasized the coordination between the countries. There is a lot of Spanish contribution to India’s development stories.
India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
During the meeting, the status of several MOUs were reviewed by both countries which included the vital interest for bilateral relations like MOUs on Migration and Mobility, Cyber Security, Agreement on Social Security, etc.
Both countries have celebrated the Golden Jubilee edition of the India-Spain Joint Commission Mechanism which was established in 1972. In the previous 50 years, there has been an encouragement of bilateral trade and investment between the two nations.
