India, Spain agree to advance discussions on UPI-Bizum digital payments link
Both the sides identified significant opportunities for collaboration in automobiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, renewable energy, tourism and infrastructure
India and Spain have agreed to advance technical discussions on interoperability between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain’s Bizum digital payments platform, according to a statement released by the Commerce Ministry.
The issue was taken up during the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal’s five-day visit to Spain, Belgium, Finland and Estonia from July 13-18 July, accompanied by a high-level Indian business delegation.
Both the sides identified significant opportunities for collaboration in automobiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, renewable energy, tourism and infrastructure. Discussions also covered investment facilitation, mobility of professionals and joint investments in Latin America, leveraging Spain’s strategic position as India’s gateway to Europe and Latin America.
Goyal welcomed the flagship C-295 aircraft programme under the ‘Make in India’ initiative and the progress made on the Migration and Mobility Partnership and Social Security Agreement.
Addressing India-Spain Business Forum, Goyal called upon businesses to forge early partnerships to maximise opportunities arising from the India-EU FTA and outlined an ambitious “10×10×10” vision to increase bilateral trade, investment and tourism tenfold over the next decade.
In Brussels, Goyal co-chaired 3rd India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Ministerial Meeting. He welcomed the adoption of the 2026-27 TTC Action Plan and the listing of 21 additional Indian fishery establishments, taking the total number of approved Indian establishments to 625. India also raised the issue of listing Indian ship recycling yards and proposed launching an India-EU dialogue on skills, education and talent mobility.
The discussions also covered negotiations on Investment Protection Agreement and Geographical Indications Agreement, cooperation on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), regulatory simplification, market access for agricultural products, duty derogation for Basmati rice, steel scrap etc.
In Finland, the Commerce Minister met Riikka Purra, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and Sakari Puisto, Minister of Economic Affairs. The discussions focused on expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, 6G, quantum technologies, clean energy, the circular economy, advanced manufacturing and innovation.
Both sides agreed that India’s scale and talent, combined with Finland’s technological capabilities, offer significant opportunities for co-development and co-manufacturing. Discussions also covered university partnerships, startup collaboration, talent mobility and research cooperation.
Goyal also met the leadership of KONE and Nokia and encouraged both companies to significantly expand manufacturing, research and development, exports and digital infrastructure investments in India. He invited Finnish companies to establish manufacturing bases in India to serve global markets and deepen collaboration in telecom technologies, data centres, cloud computing and workforce development.
