India, Spain to sign MLATCM, two MOUs

New Delhi, June 30 (UNI) India and Spain will sign a Treaty for Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) during the four-day official visit of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero here beginning from July 2.

The MoUs on Institutionalisation of Political Dialogue and between Technology Development Board (TDB) and Centre for Development of Industrial Technology (CDIT) will be signed after official dicussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr Zapatero on July 3.

This will be the first Head of Government-level visit from either side in 13 years and comes on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The Spanish Prime Minister will be accompanied by Minister of External Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Angel Moratinos, besides an official delegation and 50 senior Spanish businesspersons.

The visiting dignitary will call on Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

He will also meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Minister for Science and Technology and Ocean Development Kapil Sibal, and Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.

Besides holding official meetings in New Delhi on July 3, Prime Minister Zapatero will visit Pune and Mumbai.

He will address the India-Spain Business Meet here. Indian business associations--CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM--will host a business lunch.

In Pune, he will visit Indo-Spanish joint venture companies while in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh will host a dinner for the visiting dignitary.

India's economic linkages with Spain are growing and bilateral trade has increased from around 900 million US Dollars in 2000 to 2.7 billion Dollars in 2005.

There is a gradually growing trend of setting up of Indo-Spanish joint ventures in India. Some major Indian companies in automotive, pharmaceutical and IT sectors are present in Spain.

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