External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid an official visit to Spain from January 13-14, during which he called on King Felipe VI and Pedro Sanchez, President of Spain.
This was his first visit to Madrid as Minister.
During his call on the King and the President, both sides expressed satisfaction at the regular high-level exchanges and interactions, and agreed to capitalise on the momentum generated by the visit of President Sanchez to India last year to further strengthen bilateral ties, a statement said.
EAM held a meeting with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, and regional and global matters of mutual interest. The Ministers expressed satisfaction over the progress in diverse sectors including trade & economy, defence & security, tourism, culture and people-to-people ties.
They also discussed ways of increasing collaboration in new and emerging sectors of digital technology, AI, renewable energy, and space. EAM also delivered the Keynote Address at the 9th Annual Conference of Spanish Ambassadors on the theme ‘A Foreign Policy with our own Identity’.
EAM also met with Defence Minister Margarita Robles and noted that the C-295 Aircraft Assembly line Plant at Vadodara has been an important project and has taken the defence and security cooperation between the two countries to the next level. The two sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the defence sector.
EAM together with Foreign Minister Albares, addressed leading Spanish companies, think-tanks, and intelligentsia in a conference organized by the Spain India Council Foundation titled ‘Strategic Alliances for a Changing World: Spain and India in the 21st Century’.
During the visit, EAM paid floral tribute at the Statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Madrid. He also interacted with representatives of the Indian diaspora in Spain.
Two MoUs on cooperation in the field of Sports, and cooperation in the field of Sustainable Urban Development were signed during the visit.
EAM’s visit, coming within three months of the visit of President Pedro Sanchez to India, reflects the commitment of both sides for regular and sustained engagement between the two countries, and has led to further deepening of bilateral ties, the statement added.
