Miquel Sàmper Rodríguez, Minister for Business and Labour, Government of Catalonia, is in India to strengthen the growing economic relationship between Catalonia and India and to promote new opportunities in the fields of artificial intelligence, deeptech, healthcare, semiconductors, space technology, energy, and advanced manufacturing.
Catalonia is one of Spain's major economic drivers and a leading European center for industry, technology and innovation with an economy worth €334.8 billion in 2025. Rodríguez’s visit, organized by the Catalan Ministry for Business and Labour and Catalonia Trade & Investment (CTI), the internationalization and investment agency of ACCIÓ, shows Catalonia's ongoing commitment to further strengthen its trade, investment, and business relationships with India.
The visit comes at a time when the commercial relationship is steadily growing. In the last 10 years, exports between Catalonia and India have more than doubled. Catalan exports to India amounted to €652 million in 2025. The relationship is also backed by a strong two-way corporate presence, with 166 companies from both India and Catalonia operating in both markets.
As part of its ongoing dedication to India, Catalonia Trade & Investment is opening a new office in New Delhi this year to complement its existing presence in Mumbai and more than 30 years of activity in the country. The new office will strengthen institutional dialogue and offer more effective support to Indian companies, investors, and institutions looking into opportunities in Catalonia, as well as to Catalan companies that wish to expand operations in India.
Reflecting on the significance of this growing relationship and the goals of his visit, Minister Rodriguez said Catalonia and India already have strong and growing business ties, but there is much more they can do together. “This visit is an opportunity to build on that relationship and create more practical connections between our companies, startups, research institutions, and innovation ecosystems,” he said.
He added that cooperation with Nasscom was an important step in that direction, particularly in areas such as AI, deeptech, semiconductors, healthtech, energytech and spacetech. “We want to see these connections translate into new investments, partnerships, and opportunities for companies on both sides.”
The minister will be holding talks with important government and industrial stakeholders, such as Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister of Industries, Food & Supplies and Environment, Forest & Wildlife (Government of NCT of Delhi), and representatives of major industry associations including FICCI and NASSCOM. The discussions will concentrate on the possibilities for greater economic cooperation, trade and investment, especially in sectors in which Catalonia and India have complementary strengths.
Barcelona has emerged as an international technology hub; IBM's Global Location Trends 2025 show that it ranks third in the world and first in the European Union for attracting foreign investment projects in artificial intelligence, with only London and Singapore ahead of it.
Another area with great potential is healthcare and life sciences. Catalonia is presently the fourth region in the world and the leading one in Europe for attracting foreign technology investment projects related to digital health.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister of Industries, Food & Supplies and Environment, Forest & Wildlife (Government of NCT of Delhi), said
Delhi is emerging as a strong hub for industry, technology and innovation. “We see good potential to strengthen our engagement with Catalonia and create new opportunities for investment, technology partnerships, and business collaboration. The visit is a welcome opportunity to take this relationship forward.”
Kalyan Kumar, President, HCL Software, shared his belief that sovereignty isn't about isolation, but is about choice. “Catalonia's strength in cybersecurity talent, AI and deeptech, and its place among Europe's largest ICT hubs, reflects the shift we're building for. Enterprises deciding where their software runs, where their data resides, and how their AI is governed, without external dependencies.
“Our IP-led engineering 'F1 squad' across experience, data, and intelligent operations, alongside our team on the ground in Catalonia, exists to partner with local enterprises and service providers to co-create secure, sovereign, scalable digital solutions. We're glad to host Minister Miquel Sàmper and the Catalonia delegation at HCLTech (HCLSoftware), Kumar said.
The visit occurs at a time when new investment opportunities are emerging between Catalonia and India. Barcelona-based technology company Submer has proposed an investment of $2 billion in Madhya Pradesh's semiconductor ecosystem, which is expected to generate about 5,000 direct jobs. This shows the potential for Catalan technology and expertise to play an important role in India's rapidly growing high-tech economy.
The Catalonia Trade & Investment–NASSCOM Letter of Intent (LOI) represents yet another potential turning point. Its aim is to stimulate business, technology and investment connections, to link up companies, startups and research institutions, to promote collaboration in the areas of AI, deeptech, semiconductors, healthtech, energytech and spacetech, and to help business delegations and innovation exchanges.
Shivendra Singh, Vice President, Global Trade Development at NASSCOM, said Catalonia offers a strong gateway for Indian technology companies to deepen their presence in Spain and the wider European market. “This collaboration will create greater opportunities for NASSCOM member companies to build partnerships, explore new markets, and expand their business and investment footprint through Catalonia, particularly in AI and other strategic technology areas such as Health tech, Energy and Space technologies,” he said.
The minister's visit also underlines Barcelona and Catalonia's wider role as a global destination for technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and international business.
Through events such as Mobile World Congress and Catalonia’s thriving technology ecosystem and increasing expertise in AI, healthcare, and deeptech, Indian companies and investors are able to gain access to European markets and open the door for Catalan businesses to expand operations in India.
Tapping the existing relationship, the minister’s current visit is opening up new possibilities with regard to investment, innovation, technology partnerships and market access between the two regions.
