Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Namaste ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this Press Briefing by Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Tanmaya Lal. He will be briefing us on the ongoing visit of the President of the Government of Spain to India. On the stage, we are also joined by Mr. Piyush Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Europe West) in the Ministry of External Affairs. With that, I give the floor to Secretary (West) to make his opening remarks. Sir, the floor is yours.
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Thank you Randhir. Well, as you would have noted, this has been a landmark visit, the visit of the President of the Government of Spain, His Excellency Pedro Sánchez. This is a first by a President of Spain in nearly two decades. He is visiting India at the invitation of Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is accompanied by his wife, Her Excellency Ms. Begoña Gómez, and also two Ministers from the Spanish Government; the Minister of Industry and Tourism, His Excellency Jordi Hereu Boher, and the Minister for Transportation and Sustainable Mobility, His Excellency Óscar Puente. He is also accompanied by a group of 15 CEOs of leading Spanish companies. Today, the delegation was in Vadodara and now they have left for Mumbai where they have a busy day tomorrow also.
The day began by a Shobha Yatra where both leaders, Prime Minister Modi and President of the Government of Spain, His Excellency Pedro Sánchez, were there together. This was followed by the joint inauguration by the two leaders of the Tata Aircraft Complex in Vadodara, which will be producing the C-295 military transport aircraft. This plant, as you would know, is a collaboration between the Tata Advanced Systems Limited and the Airbus SE Spain. You may recall that the foundation stone for the plant had been laid only two years ago by Prime Minister Modi and today the inauguration of the plant was doneUdabur Investment. The two leaders toured the factory and witnessed some of the state of the art facilities which have been established there. They also visited an exhibition of the various components that are being made in India by a large number of vendors, mostly SMEs. This has been an example of industrial and manufacturing collaboration between India and Spain in the defence sector which is really giving a boost to the Make in India campaign and the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, especially in the defence sector.
The joint inauguration was followed by delegation level talks which were held at the Lukshmi Vilas Palace. The two leaders discussed the entire range of bilateral engagements as well as global issues of mutual interest and concern, including Ukraine and West Asia. This was followed by a banquet lunch that was hosted by Prime Minister Modi. And the two leaders also met the group of 15 CEOs representing leading Spanish companies. And President Sánchez has since left for Mumbai.
In Mumbai tomorrow, he will be addressing the India-Spain Business Summit along with the Honorable Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari. The Business Summit is being organized by CII and DPIIT along with the ICEX, which is the trade and investment body from Spain. The President will also address a CEO Forum which is being organized by FICCI and DPIIT along with the Chamber of Commerce of Spain. The program also includes the fourth India-Spain Forum which will be held, jointly organized by the ORF and the Spain-India Council Foundation. Honorable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan, will call on the President and host a lunch in his honour. In the evening an interaction is expected with the stakeholders from IT and film industry.
This visit contributes to the growing India-Spain partnership which has various aspects, especially trade and investment. Spain is an important partner within the European Union. They had held the Presidency of the EU last year in the second half. Spain is a member of the NATO. It is the 15th largest economy in the world and growing. Spain is also the fifth largest economy within the EU. And Spain is also among the top 10 defence exporters in the world.
Bilateral trade, India and Spain is now of the order of 10 billion U.S. dollars annually. And total investment from both sides ranges, in the case of Spain, $4 billion into India; and almost $1 billion by Indian companies in Spain. As many as 230 Spanish companies have business presence in India and around 80 Indian companies have business presence in Spain.
The areas of collaboration are very wide ranging from energy to logistics, transportation, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and IT, among others. There are an estimated more than 75,000 persons of Indian origin in Spain. Every year almost a quarter million Indian tourists visit Spain and around 40,000 Spanish tourists visit India. Also importantly, India has operationalized a Consulate General in Barcelona in August, a couple of months back this year. And Spain is opening a Consulate in Bengaluru.
The ongoing visit builds upon several continuing high level exchanges. The External Affairs Minister had met Foreign Minister Albares in September last month in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA. The Spanish Foreign Minister had visited India twice last year in the context of G20 meetings. He had also visited India in 2022. This year the third Vice President and the Minister for Ecological Transition of Spain visited India in February. And the Secretary for Defence of Spain had visited India in March. Foreign Office Consultations were held in October last year and the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation was held also last year. So this visit builds upon these continuing high level exchanges.
A joint statement is being issued which will be available shortly. Several MoUs have also been signed during the visit. These include areas such as railways, customs, a fast track mechanism for facilitating investments and other trade issues, cultural exchange program for the year 2024 to 2028, an audio-visual joint commission, and also the year 2026 is being designated as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism and Artificial Intelligence.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, we open the floor for questions. When you ask a question, please do take your name and the organization that you come from so that we take note of you.
Vishu: Hi sir, this is Vishu from ANI. I just wanted to know India and EU are also negotiating FTA. So, was there any discussion during the talks regarding FTA?
Meghna: Sir, I am Meghna Dev from DD News. Sir, 2026 will be designated as you said the Year for India-Spain Tourism, Culture and AI. What kind of events can we expect? Are these all events going to be held in India or in Spain or how is the whole structure of the year that will be celebrating this?
Tushar: Hi, this is Tushar from Times of India. Can you just give us a bit more specifics about the MoUs that were signed? If there is any amount involved, how much amount was supposed to be invested? Any specifics?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): As you are aware, the negotiations on an FTA and investment agreement between India and the European Union are ongoing. And this is an issue which is of interest to both sides, including India and Spain. And both are wanting an early and ambitious agreement to be finalized, which will be of interest for both sides. So yes, both sides are interested in ambitious and meaningful FTA agreement.
The year 2026, of course, this will showcase the cultural and civilizational heritage of both sides in various forms, ranging from art, music, films and many other cultural aspects. Both countries have very long cultural heritage and traditions. The city of Valladolid and Ahmedabad have a twinning arrangement. The Spanish language is popular here. Indian films and Yoga and Indian cuisine are also popular in Spain. And as I had mentioned, Spain is a very popular destination for India and also in the other direction also. The number of tourists from Spain to India is increasing. So this whole year will celebrate all these aspects by holding various exhibitions, seminars, performances in both countries. So it will be really a rich cultural agenda for that year between our two countries.
The MoUs, as I mentioned, have been listed. In terms of the investments, etc, as you know, the highlight of this visit has been the joint inauguration of the C-295 aircraft facility, which is really a milestone. But also the presence of the strong business delegation from the Spanish side is an indicator of the business interest that is there from both sides. And tomorrow is a day where both India-Spain Business Summit and CEO Forum from both sides will take place. And I’m sure you will come to know of the various developments that occur in this regard in terms of investment and other proposals.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Just to add, Tushar, you will have the list of all the MoUs shortly, as we finish this Press Briefing, on our website.
Jignesh: This is Jignesh Parekh from Gujarat Samachar newspaper. So can you throw some light on the project which was inaugurated earlier in terms of investment, how much investment is being done in this specific project in Vadodara? And employment also?
Siddharth: Sir, Siddharth Pandya from the PTI. Sir, you just mentioned a bit about Ukraine. Could you just elaborate on that, what kind of talks had taken place? And secondly, just a small question regarding this, how do these MoUs align with India’s broader strategic objectives, particularly in context of Indo-Pacific region?
Sheetal: Myself Sheetal Parmar, I’m from State Information Department. My question is, as you said that this event is a landmark event for India, how business opportunity will increase after this event in India?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): So, regarding the question about the C-295 project, as you know the decision to acquire this aircraft was taken a few years back in 2021, and the arrangement between the Tata Advanced Systems and the Airbus Spain was reached, under which a total of 56 aircrafts were to be procured. Sixteen of these were to be procured in fly-away condition from Airbus Spain, and the remaining 40 are to be made in India. The first of such aircraft was received last September when the Chief of Indian Air Force received the first aircraft, and since then six C-295 have been delivered. The project is on schedule to produce these aircrafts here. As you know, within two years of laying of the foundation stone, the plant has come up. The first aircraft is expected to be… the Made in India aircraft is to be delivered within two years, and an important aspect is that the entire ecosystem for making and producing these components is being developed here in India. As many as 18,000 components which will be used in this aircraft will be manufactured in various locations, including for example Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bengaluru. So it’s really generating capacities in addition to the employment; which is expected to be in the range of 3,000 direct jobs here, and also in around 10,000 jobs in terms of the various SMEs and other entities which will be making all these components. So, this is really a milestone in the sense that for the first time the private sector will be involved directly in this production of this military transport aircraft.
With respect to Ukraine, both sides exchanged views on how they see the situation. Of course, Prime Minister Modi reiterated the position that any such conflict can only be resolved by dialogue and diplomacy. This is not the time for war. This cannot be resolved on the battleground. So it is necessary that there is direct discussion between the parties.
On the Indo-Pacific, yes, it was discussed. It finds mention in the joint statement which is being issued, which reiterates India’s position, and you would be familiar with India’s position on this, that we really look for free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. And you will come to know the details which are mentioned in the joint statement.
In terms of business opportunities, I think there are a number of areas in which Spanish companies are active in India and also in Gujarat. In fact, in Gujarat [inaudible] automotive sector, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and logistics. And in that context it is interesting to note that the Gati Shakti University that has come up in Gujarat, which really is one of its kind by focusing on logistics and transportation sectors; and that is an area of close collaboration between Spain and India. Spanish companies have a lot of competence in many areas relating to transport and logistics. Their Minister for Transport and Sustainable Mobility is part of the delegation. An MoU on cooperation in railways has been signed, which will look after the maintenance and safety and other training aspects. So, many aspects of various… ranging from energy to transport to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other sectors have been discussed. And as you may be aware, the total figure of trade is increasing. It is very substantial now, USD 10 billion, and also the investment by various companies in each other’s countries is increasing. So, the economic partnership is really going well.
Meghna: Sir, because the Spanish President is meeting the film industry people in Mumbai, were there any talks, because Spain is projecting itself as an attractive destination for film shooting and many Indian films are being shot there as well. So, were there talks on that; and also he visited the Lukshmi Vilas Palace, did he sign any visitor book or any reaction that he gave on that?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Well, yes, film sector is an area of ongoing interest with various stakeholders. And as you are aware, some of prominent Indian films have been shot in Spain. There is also an MoU on audio-visual sector has been signed. There is also the joint statement that is being issued, refers to that India was the guest country at one of the prominent film festivals called Seminci last year. And Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award was given to legendary Spanish director Carlos Saura. So there are various aspects of audio-visual and film production that are being taken forward. And tomorrow, the visit will hopefully produce more such avenues of collaboration. So, this is an area of interest.
Speaker: Sir, I just wanted to know about the submarine deal, whether there was any discussion regarding the P-75(I) submarine deal?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Well, defence cooperation is an area of interest for both sides. And at this stage, I would not like to say anything more on this.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your presenceVaranasi Investment. With this, we come to the close of this Press Briefing. Thank you for your participation and we look forward. Please be in touch with us for more updates on this ongoing visit of President Sánchez. Thank you very much.
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