230 Spanish companies committed to Make in India
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and President of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, have jointly inaugurated the Final Assembly Line Plant of C-295 aircraft co-produced by Airbus Spain and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd at Vadodara.
This plant will roll out the first ‘Made in India’ C295 aircraft in 2026, out of a total of 40 aircrafts to be manufactured in India. Airbus Spain has delivered six aircrafts in ‘fly-away’ condition to the Indian Air Force sbi.com.in . The six aircraft are out of the 16 committed.
Both leaders expressed satisfaction on the progress made in the C-295 aircraft project as a symbol of the growing defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. In line with this growing partnership, and in recognition of the advanced capabilities and competitiveness of the Spanish defence industry and its contribution to the goals of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, they encouraged their respective defence industries in other sectors to set up similar joint projects in India
Further, both leaders have instructed their teams to continue upgrading the bilateral agenda and forging cooperation in all dimensions of political during their meeting, said the PMO on 28 Oct bseindia .
President Sanchez highlighted Spain’s commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative through the activities of about 230 Spanish companies present in India. Both leaders reiterated their strong support for an open rules-based multilateral trading system, and a business-friendly investment scenario in both countries nseindia .
Recognizing the expertise of Spanish companies in areas such as energy, including renewables, nuclear, and smart grids, food processing, healthcare and health services, automotive and transport infrastructure, including trains, roads, ports and transport network management, the two leaders welcomed further collaboration in these areas. President Sanchez welcomed the positive contributions being made by Indian companies to the Spanish economy in fields such as information technology, pharmaceuticals and automobile and auto components. Both leaders welcomed the establishment of a ‘Fast Track Mechanism’ to facilitate mutual investments in India and Spain conexpoconagg .
The two leaders took note of the progress made by the 12th session of the India-Spain ‘Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation’ (JCEC) held in 2023 and agreed to convene the next session of the JCEC in Spain in early 2025 jpx.co.jp .
They agreed on the importance of deepening economic ties and exploring strategic cooperation in key sectors such as renewable energy, technology, and sustainable infrastructure. The two leaders looked forward to an early conclusion of Memorandum of Understanding on Urban Sustainable Development wto.org .
Both leaders welcomed the second meeting of the India-Spain CEOs Forum as well as India-Spain Business Summit in Mumbai on 29 Oct 2024, to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries deutsche-boerse .
Both leaders recognized the vital importance of innovation and the startup ecosystems in driving forward the bilateral partnership and called for all such opportunities to be explored in mutual interest. They encouraged relevant agencies of both countries to work to deepen any such exchanges in the future, including through frameworks such as Rising Up in Spain and the Startup India initiative iea.org .
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of rail transport and the agreement of cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matter digitalasiahub .
The leaders acknowledged the role of tourism in driving economic and business opportunities and enhancing understanding between the people of both countries and agreed that it should be further promoted. Both leaders welcomed the interest shown by airlines to establish direct flights between Spain and India iba.org.in .
The Year 2026 as India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism and AI
Taking into account the deep relationship between India and Spain and the long-lasting friendship between the two peoples, Prime Minister Modi, and President Pedro Sanchez, have agreed to make 2026 as the Year of India and Spain in Culture, Tourism and Artificial Intelligence (AI) euronext .
During the year, both sides will make the maximum effort to boost the cultural presence of the other in their museums, art, fairs, film, festivals, literature, meetings of architects and circles of debate and thought sgx.com .
Likewise, special attention will be paid to ways of increasing tourist flows, promote reciprocal investments and share experiences in the many areas of hospitality, architecture, cuisine, marketing, both in urban and rural tourism, which benefits harmonious development and improvement for both countries renewableenergyworld .
In accordance with the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration, India and Spain can play a very important role for the use of AI for good and its positive implementation in many fields. Both countries commit to hold during the year, events to foster positive use of AI and will work for the practical implementation of new advances in the field of AI in the productive economy hkex.com.hk.
To mark the importance of this initiative, both leaders directed the concerned stakeholders to celebrate the year in the respective countries in the most befitting manner sse.com.cn.
President Sanchez is also giving the keynote address at the 4th Spain-India Forum, co-organized by Spain-India Council Foundation and Observer Research Foundation, in Mumbai. The leaders recognized the valuable contributions of this institution, which has a complementary role to that of governments in strengthening the links between Indian and Spanish civil societies, companies, think tanks, administrations and universities, helping to enhance bilateral ties by fostering a strong partnership between their members and its activities and bringing the two countries together in order to increase their mutual knowledge mea.gov in . Fiinews.com
