India, Spain to fast-track talks on UPI-Bizum interoperability; broader ties eyed

New Delhi: India and Spain have agreed to fast‑track technical talks on enabling interoperability between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain’s Bizum payments platform, the Commerce Ministry said on Sunday.

The commitment came during Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s recent visit to Spain, where discussions also focused on strengthening investment facilitation, improving professional mobility, and promoting joint investments in Latin America—leveraging Spain’s strategic role as a gateway to Europe and the region.

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“Both sides also agreed to advance technical discussions for interoperability between India’s UPI and Spain’s Bizum digital payments platform,” the ministry said.

Officials identified significant cooperation opportunities across automobiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, renewable energy, tourism and infrastructure. Goyal also raised the listing of Indian ship‑recycling yards during talks in Brussels and proposed launching an India‑EU dialogue on skills, education and talent mobility.

Negotiations were reported to cover a range of trade and investment issues, including the Investment Protection Agreement and Geographical Indications Agreement, cooperation on the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), regulatory simplification, market access for agricultural products, duty derogation on basmati rice, and steel scrap rules.

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Goyal held meetings with the leadership of KONE and Nokia, urging both firms to scale up manufacturing, research and development, exports and investments in digital infrastructure in India.

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