Anand Sharma speaks in Barcelona on India-EU relations

New Delhi, Nov 13 (UNI) Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma delivered a speech on India-EU relations at Casa Asia in Barcelona today.

Mr Sharma is currently on a five-day visit to Spain from November 10, 2006.

Casa Asia is a pre-eminent think-tank, set up six years ago to promote Spain-Asia relations and gives primacy to India in its activities.

Important policy, academic and business personalities attended this talk.

Earlier, the minister had inaugurated Casa de la India in Valladolid on November 11.

Welcoming the minister, Mr Ion de la Riva, Director General of Casa Asia, spoke of Spain's focus on India in their Plan of Action 2005-08 and of how the people present in the audience were infused with and enthused about India.

Mr Sharma spoke of the need of 21st century initiatives to promote Spain-India relations such as Casa de la India, the Spain-India Tribune, the Cervantes Institute in India, and programmes by Casa Asia, according to a release by the Embassy of India in Madrid.

These would take forward the history of goodwill and cultural exchanges that already exist as symbolised by the translation of Rabindranath Tagore's works by the Spanish Nobel Laureaute Juan Ramon Jimenez and the translation of the Upnishads from Sanskrit to Spanish and English by Joan Mascaro.

Mr Sharma also spoke on the recent seventh India-EU Summit meeting at Helsinki, the Joint Action Plan and the content and dynamism of our strategic partnership with the European Union.

''Our interaction with Europe cover the gamut of shared opportunities and concerns at government level, by the businesses, the academia and the civil society,'' he said.

Describing the India-EU relationship as a partnership of democracies, he referred to the important trade and investment linkages between India and the EU.

The minister announced India's intention to accelerate the pace of its enagement with Spain.

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