Jai Shankar discusses defence, trade with Spain Minister

By Our Special Correspondent

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez, who is on a one-day visit to India on Wednesday, met with Foreign Minister Jai Shankar and welcomed the signing of a defense agreement between the two countries. As part of the deal, Airbus will supply 56 C295 aircraft to Spain, 40 of which are made in India, and have agreed to deepen defense and security cooperation.

India welcomes Spain's interest in participating in its National Defense Manufacturing Program through Make in India and Atmanirbhar India. The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to work closely to combat common challenges related to terrorism, violent terrorism and cybercrime.

The talks between the two ministers focused on enhancing cooperation in key priority areas such as trade and investment, public relations, climate cooperation, green energy, science & technology, innovation and defense and security. "At the meeting, the ministers signed the Joint Declaration of Intent on Cooperation in the Cultural and Educational Fields," the MEA said.

Spain is India's seventh largest trading partner in the European Union, with bilateral trade worth $ 4.7 billion in 2020-21, $ 3.2 billion in exports from India and $ 1.5 billion in imports. Spain is the 15th largest investor in India with a cumulative FDI stock of $ 1.43 billion (January 2000 to September 2019).

There are about 250 Spanish companies in India, mainly in the field of food, beverages, chemicals, rubber products, plastic products, electrical material, electrical equipment, machinery and equipment and motor vehicles.

The two foreign ministers welcomed the growing bilateral trade and investment ties and agreed to expand them into new areas of common interest. They said bilateral trade had rebounded beyond pre-existing levels and had significant potential for further growth.

Sectors such as IT, Pharma and renewable energy have the potential to grow and there are new and unexplored emerging areas such as green hydrogen and electric mobility.