India, Spain review full spectrum of ties at 8th Foreign Office Consultations

New Delhi [India], November 13 (ANI): The 8th India-Spain Foreign Office Consultations were held in New Delhi on Thursday, during which both countries reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including political, economic and commercial, infrastructure, railways, defence and security, science and technology, cultural, tourism and people-to-people ties.

According to an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indian delegation was led by Sibi George, Secretary (West), and the Spanish delegation was led by Diego Martinez Belio, Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs.

Both sides noted with satisfaction the progress made in the flagship bilateral 'Make in India' C-295 project as the first aircraft is expected to be rolled out from the Airbus-TATA C-295 final assembly line plant in Vadodara next year, the MEA said.

The two sides agreed that celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2026, as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism, and Artificial Intelligence, would provide a welcome framework to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, the statement added.

Spain has one of the highest footfalls of Indian tourists among European countries, with around 2,50,000 Indian tourists visiting Spain annually. Over 80,000 Spanish tourists visit India each year.

The two sides also expressed happiness at the growing India-EU strategic partnership and discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern, including the global fight against terrorism.

India reiterated its policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and thanked the Government of Spain for supporting its interest in joining the Ibero-American Conference as an Associate Observer, the statement said.

India and Spain have witnessed upward momentum in bilateral ties following the landmark visit of President Pedro Sanchez to India in October 2024 and the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Spain in January 2025.

Both sides looked forward to continued high-level interactions and regular meetings of institutional mechanisms in trade and investment, defence, science and technology, audio-visual co-production and sustainable urban development.

The next round of Foreign Office Consultations will be held in Spain on mutually convenient dates. (ANI)

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