Directorate General of Armament and Material (DGAM), through OFICAEX (Foreign Support Office) organized the Indian Industry Day 2018 together with the Embassy of India in Spain and business associations FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry ), TEDAE (Spanish Association of Technological Defense, Aeronautics and Space Companies) and AESMIDE (Association of Contractors Companies with Public Administrations).
At the Conference opening, located at CESEDEN, both Lieutenant General Juan Manuel García Montaño (DiGAM) and the Ambassador of India in Spain Mr. DB Venkatesh Varma highlighted the privileged relationship between India and Spain, as well as the excellent relations both commercial and Defense and Security between both countries.
This privileged bilateral relationship is reflected in the 70 Spanish companies with the presence in India and the 35 Indian companies with the presence in Spain, as well as in a volume of exports from India to Spain of 3,874 million euros, and 1,276 million euros from Spain to India. As highlighted by Mr. Javier Montalvo (Project Manager Director ICEX-Invest Spain) during his participation in the Conference.
The celebration of this Indian Industry Day 2018 is part of the objective of continuing to strengthen and improve these commercial relations, and more specifically to strengthen the relations of the Defense Industry between both countries.
There were 11 Indian companies and 27 Spanish companies, representatives of the most significant sectors of the Defense Industry, which participated in this Conference. In this context, Hispano Vema made a presentation to India delegation of their CBRN Decontamination Capabilities and their new generation of mobile and sustainable water purifiers based on Nanofiltration.
Several of the companies in the Indian delegation showed great interest in CBRN Decontamination systems, especially for the CBRN Decontamination Rapid Deployment systems which provide First Responders and Hazmat Response Team essential capabilities for decontamination of people, equipment and vehicles in any scenario (urban areas, building interiors, critical infrastructures, open field, etc.) in which a Hazmat incident may happen.
It also aroused great interest by Massive Decontamination Stations for CBRNe incidents with a large number of casualties. In these cases, their features for configuring Decontamination Showers for both valid personnel and disabled or wounded people is fundamental for Hazmat Emergency Teams to fulfill their main objective in a Hazmat incident: mitigate the risks and save lives.
The interest of the companies of the Indian delegation for CBRN decontamination systems is logical as for both the Indian Army and Civil Protection Agencies of India, CBRN capabilities are an essential capacity in its strategic defense policy.
Unfortunately, India has suffered the rigors of Hazmat incidents caused by both biological agents and chemical agents, especially toxic industrial chemicals (TIC, Toxic Industrial Chemicals). Indeed, the considered as the world´s worst industrial disaster in the history happened in Indian territory: Bhopal disaster.
In December 1984, a methyl isocyanate leak from a fertilizer plant in Bhopal generated a toxic cloud composed of phosgene, methylamine, caustic soda and hydrogen cyanide that ravaged the region. It is estimated that approximately 3,800 people died in the first week, and 550,000 people were injured
At Conference closing, General Luis López González, Chief of the Office of Foreign Support (OFICAEX), highlighted the importance of increasing collaboration between companies in the Defense Industry of both countries. Taking advantages of the synergies that both the defense and security market in India and Spain will offer in the coming years.
In this sense, General Luis López González pointed out the importance and the opportunity that for the Defense Industry offers recently signed PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) agreement between 25 countries of the European Union.
Regarding PESCO, Lieutenant General Juan Manuel García Montaño (DiGAM) meant that “..PESCO is going to suppose a determined impulse to Defense and Security in Europe … which will be accompanied by release of new international collaboration frameworks, for the joint development of technological innovation aimed at improving European defense capabilities. “
