"India, Spain have very good economic, trade relationship": MP CM's Principal Secy Raghvendra Kumar Singh

Barcelona [Spain], July 18 (ANI): India and Spain share a strong economic and trade relationship, with total trade between the two countries amounting to around USD 10 billion, said Raghvendra Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, while speaking in Barcelona on Thursday.

India and Spain have a very good economic and trade relationship. The total trade between Spain and India is around 10 billion dollars. There are 280 Spanish companies operating in India and 90 Indian companies operating in Spain, Singh said.

Highlighting the potential impact of the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement talks, Singh added, We do have lots of opportunities... through the India-EU trade relationship, which is going to be concluded, I believe, I wish, before the end of this year, it will open new opportunities for Spanish companies in India and Indian companies in Spain.

Promoting Madhya Pradesh as an investment destination, Singh said the centrally located state has much to offer across sectors. Madhya Pradesh is centrally located in India. It can be termed as Central Provinces. Once upon a time, its name was Central Provinces. It the second largest state in terms of area, fifth largest state in terms of population, and the population is 88 million. The population is 88 million. It much bigger in population than Spain, he said.

We have 2 million youth population in the 15-29 years. We are the second largest food grain producer in India and the largest exporter of wheat in India, he added.

Singh also emphasised the state ecological strengths and skilled workforce. We are probably the cleanest state in the entire country in India. We have 32 percent of forest cover in Madhya Pradesh, and that is around 12 percent of total national forest cover in India. When you want to invest, Madhya Pradesh can be an ideal destination because we provide you opportunity in diverse fields, and we are not only settled with a few fields, but you can have investment in many fields.

He continued, We have 47 percent working population, 200,000 graduates every year. We have very low attrition rate. We have a very good work-life balance and ease of living is of highest order.

Outlining the state industrial infrastructure, Singh said, We have abundance of skilled workforce, abundance of water supply for industries -- more than 1,000 million cubic metre at very affordable rates. We are a power surplus state producing 31 gigawatt of electricity and of which more than 20 percent share is from renewable energy -- that is around 6 gigawatt at this point of time.

He added, But as the Honourable Prime Minister has taken a pledge to make 550 gigawatts of electricity by 2030, Madhya Pradesh has also taken a pledge that from 6 gigawatts today, we are going to have 33 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

Taking forward this broader vision of sustainable development, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, during his visit to Spain, toured Mercabarna -- one of Europe largest integrated wholesale food markets -- to study models that could help develop Mega Food Parks, agricultural export zones, and multi-modal logistics infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh.

In a post on X, MP CM Yadav stated that he held a discussion centred on Madhya Pradesh plans to build multimodal logistics infrastructure, agricultural export zones, and Mega Food Parks.

On the third day of the Spain visit under Madhya Pradesh Global Dialogue 2025, Mercamadrid, one of Europe largest integrated wholesale food markets, was visited, followed by discussions with its officials. Discussions focused on Madhya Pradesh vision for developing Mega Food Parks, agricultural export zones, and multi-modal logistics infrastructure. The seamless operations of Mercamadrid are certain to serve as a historic model of collaboration for the state agricultural sector, he stated in a post on X.

Yadav also emphasised the need for a government-supported ecosystem to protect farmers from price drops during abundant production while underscoring the potential for value-added processing to boost farmers incomes and expand export opportunities.

We are currently at Mercabarna in Spain -- a 250-acre campus where farmers not only sell their produce but also receive support in processing surplus crops. We are hopeful that, as the irrigated area in Madhya Pradesh expands and farmers continue to witness strong crop yields, we can adopt a similar model. In this context, we have begun consistent efforts to create an ideal ecosystem -- a government-supported model that connects communities. When there is abundant production, market prices tend to fall. To protect farmers from such price drops, we need mechanisms that allow for processing and value addition where it most needed, the MP CM said.

Implementing such a model in Madhya Pradesh could be a game-changer -- both for the farmers and for the state economy -- enabling robust business opportunities within India and in international markets, he added.

The MP CM will be staying in Spain till July 19 as part of his visit. (ANI)

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