After Thailand, the Port de Barcelona has chosen India as the destination for the next business mission, an initiative that allows establishing new contacts, attracting investments in emerging markets, and internationalizing local companies. The port authority has opted for India, focusing next year's trip on Mumbai, with the aim of "continuing to strengthen ties" with the Asian continent. "We consider it a strategic country in Asia-Europe relations," says its president, Damià Calvet.
India will be the protagonist of the 25th edition of this initiative carried out by the Port Authority of Barcelona every year since the late 90s. Before the arrival of COVID, there was only one stop in 2006 and 2007, followed by a double mission in 2008. The crisis caused by the coronavirus forced the postponement of the in-person nature of these trips, replaced by online missions in Colombia and Korea, and recovered this week from Bangkok.
"With 1.3 billion inhabitants and growing, India is a subcontinent that presents rising economic and traffic conditions. We already have a relationship with this country, but the current trend of production relocation to India interests us greatly," adds Calvet. The president of the port has not been able to travel to Thailand this week, as he is preparing the handover at the head of the institution after Junts' departure from the Government.
Calvet intervened telematically at the closing dinner of the business mission in Thailand. "In this 24th edition of the missions, we have recovered in-person attendance after the pandemic and, despite the difficulties, the trip went well and achieved its objectives. About 120 professionals attended the inaugural session and the technical seminars broke attendance records," explained the president of the Port de Barcelona.
Like India, Thailand is in full expansion. Specifically, it is one of the ten most attractive emerging countries for foreign investment and one of the world's economies most dependent on exports, which account for 66% of its GDP. With a large market, the automotive sector, renewable energies, and transport are its main economic strengths.
The Port of Laem Chabang has been one of the main stops of the Thai mission. Located in the eastern part of the country, it has become its main deep-water port. Similar to the Port of Barcelona, it is a highly diversified port, with container, ro-ro, general cargo, multipurpose, and cruise terminals. In 2021, it ranked among the world's major ports in container traffic, specifically, in the 20th position, totaling 8.4 million TEU. For this year, it forecasts 8.7 million TEU. Its operational capacity reaches up to 11 million TEU, and the Port Authority of Thailand is developing its third phase of expansion to grow to 18 million TEU.