President Mas made an official visit to India in late November to bolster commercial relations between Catalonia and the world’s tenth-largest economy.  His journey, which took him to the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore, reflects Mr. Mas’s assessment of “the need to open up and connect Catalonia with the rest of the world, not just in Europe, but also with large emerging economies”.
This was Mr. Mas’s second official international visit in November, following a four-day trade mission to Israel   several weeks earlier.
Returning on November 29th with a handful of new strategic agreements with both commercial and public sector entities, President Mas immediately affirmed the success of his visit.  Mr. Mas also expressed strong optimism for the long-term benefits of the hundreds of new business and government contacts made in key sectors during his several days abroad in India.

New Delhi: Paying Respects & New Investments

 

President Mas began his official visit to India by paying respects to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, two of the founding fathers of modern India, at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library   in the capital city of New Delhi.  That afternoon, Mr. Mas visited Streets of India , an NGO founded by Pablo Castells which supports local social projects focused on underserved populations.

During the several days which he spent in the Indian capital, President Mas had many opportunities to share the strengths of Catalan society and Catalonia’s regional economy with Indian business leaders from key sectors such as automotive parts manufacturing, tourism, and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

Speaking at a meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry  (FICCI) , Mr. Mas pointed out the strong trade relationship that already exists between India and Catalonia, as “Catalonia is responsible for 26% of Spain’s exports to India and 37% of its imports from India”.

During a meeting with India’s auto industry leaders at a morning business-to-business (B2B) session hosted by ACC1Ó  and the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India  (ACMA) , Mr. Mas highlighted Catalonia’s strong international aspects, reminding the audience that “more than fifty percent of the Catalan population is originally from outside of Catalonia,” and that it remains a “leader [in Europe] in attracting and retaining foreign investment”.

President Mas also toured the facility of the multinational automotive parts manufacturer Samvardhana Motherson Group   located just outside of New Delhi.  Samvardhana Motherson Group has three plants in Catalonia, and announced a new €30 million investment in the region during Mr. Mas’s visit.

President Mas met with ICT industry leaders at the annual meeting of the Internet & Mobile Association of India  (IAMAI) , a non-profit organization formed by some 120 Indian businesses.  Speaking to the group during the meeting’s opening address, Mr. Mas underlined that despite the vast size differences in territory and population, he believes that “Catalonia and India are perfectly comparable in terms of the entrepreneurial spirit” which both regions have long demonstrated.

Before departing the Indian capital city, President Mas also met with the Chief Minister of Maharastra State , Prithviraj Chavan .  During their time together at the Maharastra State offices in New Dehli, Mr. Mas and Mr. Chavan discussed a new agreement for strategic collaboration between Catalonia and Maharastra that will be signed by their governments in the near future.  The agreement will focus on strengthening the automotive, agricultural, ICT, and tourist sectors, as well as infrastructure (including ports and airports) in the two regions.

Chief Minister Chavan affirmed the importance of the new strategic relationship by proposing a direct flight between Mumbai and Barcelona, and explaining to President Mas how the city of Barcelona has become a point of reference in Maharastra for urban design, public sanitation, water management, and food processing.

 

In addition to spending time in Mumbai, President Mas also visited the city of Pune in Maharastra State.  There, Mr. Mas spent a morning visiting a program organized by Educo , a Catalan non-profit organization that works locally with communities to promote sustainable social change by improving living conditions for marginalized groups.
During the afternoon, he toured the facilities of Tata-Ficosa Ltd . , a joint venture between an Indian firm and Catalonia’s Ficosa , and spoke at the presentation ceremony for a new joint venture between Catalonia’s Zanini   and India’s Polyplastics .
President Mas also visited the Catalan firm IDIADA ’s facility in Pune.  The Government of Catalonia founded IDIADA in 1990 as an independent publicly-owned company in order to provide support for the automotive industry in Catalonia.  Despite selling off the main share of the company to the private sector in 1999, the Government of Catalonia retains a 20% stake in the enterprise.  The Pune facility has so far been a great success for IDIADA, and this year celebrates its fifth birthday.